In what will be a blow to development in domestic football, Transnet has pulled the plug on its longstanding sponsorship of Safa’s School of Excellence, Sowetan has confirmed.

The rail and port company sent a letter to Safa on Wednesday confirming it would no longer provide financial support to the school, famed for producing some of SA’s best talent including Steven Pienaar and Bernard Parker.

It cited financial constraints as the main reason for ending a relationship which spanned over two decades, although another source told Sowetan that Transnet had “grown tired” of what effectively had descended into a one-sided relationship.

“They [Transnet] were not seeing any return on investment. Safa were not keeping their end of the stick, such as providing regular reports on the programme,” the source, who cannot be quoted because they are not mandated to speak on the matter, told Sowetan.

In a response to Sowetan’s query, Transnet stated financial constraints were chief among its reasons to pull out, but it committed it would ensure a smooth exit which should not negatively affect already enlisted learners.

“The Transnet Foundation has previously raised the issue of financial constraints with Safa and has today [December 14] officially informed Safa and the other trustees of its decision to exit the school. The foundation has expressed its commitment to assisting in getting new donors, to ensure that the exit is undertaken in a responsible manner. The trustees will therefore determine the final future of the school once this process has been concluded. This will include discussions with the parents of the current intake of learners.”

Safa chief executive Tebogo Motlanthe confirmed it had received the letter informing it of Transnet’s termination of sponsorship. “I’m out of the country but indeed I received the correspondence from Transnet. They cited their finances do not allow them to continue with the partnership and obviously this a huge blow,” Motlanthe said.

The School of Excellence has been in existence since 1994 and was seen as a viable development platform able to nurture future stars. Undoubtedly its biggest product was Pienaar, who went on to sign with Ajax Amsterdam and Everton.

But over the years, the school has struggled to produce superstars but notably, players like Selaelo Rasebotja of SuperSport United and Pirates' Boitumelo Radiopane are counted among its latest products.

How Safa replaces Transnet, which confirmed it had "invested over R100m into the school in the past five years", could be a challenge given the association has battled to attract sponsorship over the past few years.

"We will meet after Christmas to map the way forward," Motlanthe said.