Pumas ask high court to red card ISG
Main sponsor sued for failing to fulfil its financial responsibilities to team.
MBOMBELA – The financial hardships and embarrassment that Mpumalanga’s pride and joy, the Pumas rugby team, allegedly had to endure at the hands of its former main sponsor, Innovative Solutions Group (ISG), will soon be revealed in a High Court application against the company.
Pieter Burger, CEO of the Pumas confirmed to Lowvelder that the application for the liquidation of ISG will be filed at the Johannesburg High Court today.
The court papers allege that the Pumas’ attorneys tried to serve a written demand on ISG at their registered head office in Faerie Glen in Pretoria, but security personnel on site at the Boardwalk office block said the premises were vacated.
ISG evidently responded to the demand for payment of R500 000 within 21 days, denying that it is liable for payment. The draft court papers indicate that the Pumas will now to apply for the winding up of ISG.
Reference is made to the events leading up to the application. ISG was signed up towards the end of last year as the Pumas’ main sponsor for the next three years.
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In terms of the agreement, ISG would pay the provincial rugby team R5 million for the first year, and thereafter this amount would escalate annually based on the statutory consumer price index.
When it became clear at the beginning of this year’s Currie Cup season that ISG would not be able to fulfil its financial responsibilities, the nightmare started gaining momentum for Burger and coach, Jimmy Stonehouse.
Top players were contracted in on the strength of ISG’s financial commitments and, as a result of the alleged non-performance from the side of ISG, players had to do their best on the rugby field without knowing if their contracts would be renewed for the next season.
“This put tremendous strain on the boys worrying about their future and at the same time playing their heart out on the field,” a source close to the Pumas management told Lowvelder.
To add insult to injury, the Pumas, at the last minute, had to scurry around for funds for a new set of jerseys and kit for the players without the ISG logos. According to the source, this put the Pumas finances even further into the red to the tune of R607 151.
The demand called upon ISG to pay R538 300 within 21 days. A further payment of R3 465 573 was also demanded in the letter.
Burger confirmed to Lowvelder that they are going to court for the application, but did not want to go into the details of the case.
He added that they handed the matter over to lawyers to handle the legal process from here on.
“It’s a sad day for us, but we had no choice but to do it. We owe it to our players and our staff,” he said.
Spokesman for ISG, Sya Potgieter, denied that the company, founded by Arnoux Maré, experienced financial problems and said all companies are being affected by the poor economy and that everybody else faces the same challenges as a result.
“Despite this, ISG still goes from strength to strength,” she said.
Potgieter added that the issue of the contract is now lis pendens, because the Pumas prefer to go the legal route. “Thus, ISG do not want discuss the issue of the contract in the media.” She also indicated that ISG moved offices to Centurion for more floor space.
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