August 22, 2022

SA football publication Kick Off magazine shuts down

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South African football publication Kick Off magazine has shut down.

This was revealed in the latest and final edition of the magazine, which went on sale on Sunday.

Kick Off served as a bible of the sport in SA for 28 years but had battled financially for a decade.

The online section, kickoff.com, will continue to function.

Journalist Mark Gleeson, the founding editor of the magazine, said its closing is sad for SA football.

“It’s very sad. It lasted a quarter of a century and spanned almost from SA’s readmission into African and world football through the highs of Bafana Bafana winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and going to successive World Cups in 1998 and 2002, to reflect the glory days of SA football.

“The magazine’s demise comes at a time when the game is at a low ebb, which is sad. I feel, personally, having started it, quite bereft actually.”

In his final editorial, editor Zola Doda penned:

“It’s hard to imagine that when we celebrated Kick Off magazine’s 28th birthday in February that would be our last one as a print publication,

“Kick Off was launched in February 1994 as a magazine that was going to give a voice to SA players at the dawn of democracy. In September 1996 we changed our print frequency from monthly to fortnightly, which was followed by the launch of our website, kickoff.com, in 1999.

“As the popularity of the local game grew in the new millennium so did we and our greatest achievement was by far the 2010 Fifa World Cup where we were official partners.

“But unfortunately, with rising inflation, increasing fuel and paper prices and a decline in circulation and advertising sales the last 10 years have been the toughest we have faced not just as a publication but the print industry as a whole.

“The Covid-19 pandemic, which saw local football postponed for six months, had a devastating effect, which made it difficult for us to reach pre-pandemic levels once the football returned.

“In light of this a difficult decision to close the print edition of Kick Off magazine was made, with this September edition being the last one.

“From the very first edition with Sam ‘Ewee’ Kambule on the cover to the last with Themba Zwane our readers had been there with us all the way.

“While we close the chapter on our print publication our digital platform, kickoff.com, will remain and our journalists around the country will keep you up to date with the latest breaking news, transfer stories and match reports.”

Kick Off was started by Touchline Media, having been a brainchild of the publishing house’s MD Rob Moore and Gleeson. Battling financially, the magazine was sold last decade to Soccer Laduma (SL) owner Pieter du Toit.

When Du Toit retired Media24 continued to run Kick Off and SL. – SOWETAN

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