In contrast, such top athletes are embraced on other continents, with places like Qatar offering citizenship to talented sportsmen in exchange for their representation at competitions.
The highest paid African footballer is Yaya Toure, an Ivorian international who represents Manchester City in the Premier League.
According to France Football, the midfielder receives approximately $21.9 million per year in endorsements and salary from his English club.
In comparison, one of the top players in the PSL, Teko Modise reportedly earns around half a million dollars per annum. It is important to note that this is far above the PSL average monthly pay for a player in the league.
According to a 2014 Sportsmail study of football leagues around the world, Premier League footballers earn an average of $3.6 million each a year, or $69,031 a week, which places them at the top of the earning chain, while the same list positioned the South African and Nigerian leagues in 33rd and 34th place respectively.
The South African PSL sees an average annual pay of $53,149 per annum, and in Nigeria, where the domestic football scene has been in turmoil for some time, players receive an average of $10,700 a year, or $205 a week.
That means that the annual average pay for a player in South Africa is less than the average weekly pay for a professional footballer in England’s top flight.
So it seems that the only way a talented African to become a rich professional sportsman or woman, they should choose a sport such as football or rugby and ensure that they train harder than all of their peers so that they are able to rise to the top of the sport at a young age and secure a long-term deal with a European or Asian team in one of the top leagues, where they will be making good money.
