By Chris Totobela
The Makana LFA first division league season kicked off last weekend and many football fans who took time out to go and support their respective clubs were not impressed with what they saw.
Most teams seemed unprepared for the start of the season, considering the big score margins in the various matches.
And some club officials did not hide their feelings at the lack of preparation by officials.
Black Stars’ chairman and coach Andile “Ace” Mpulani was extremely disappointed. “This is what happens every season, our league is not taken seriously by the officials. There is not a single official here, anyone just picks up the whistle and blow the game and do as he pleases because there are no officials watching him.
“We pay the same affiliation fee with the premier league clubs but the treatment is not the same. This needs to stop now and I can see that the burden is too much for our officials and they need to shout out for help.”
These sentiments were also echoed by Sakhulutsha chairman and coach Siyabonga “Rasta” Masinda.
These sentiments were also echoed by Sakhulutsha chairman and coach Siyabonga “Rasta” Masinda.
“The load is becoming too much for our under-capacitated executive committee. According to the South African Football Association constitution, all committees need to be functional and as we stand that is not the case. We cannot have one or two people running the association and expect everything to run smoothly.”
Masinda also complained about the lack of transparency. “There is no transparency, we hardly have any meetings and when one is finally convened, clubs do not attend and I’m not sure if they have given up or what. There are no match reports or anything, we literally don’t know what is going on as most of the time social media is used to communicate with clubs.”
He said the refereeing department is “a huge mess” and has been like that for years and nothing has been done. Masinda asserted that there are no clinics for the referees, alleging they were doing it for the money. “This system of paying referees per game needs to be eradicated and they need to come up with another method of doing it that will help us see who the real referees are and who is just here for the money.”
He also advised the officials to invite experienced and well-equipped people to come and help. “We have many people that are willing to help move our football forward. Football is for all of us and we all want to see change and improvement. Go out and look for sponsors and make all the divisions more exciting. Do not hesitate to ask for help from those that know better than you.”
Lakhenathi and Kutliso Daniels Secondary School coach Mandilakhe Klaas said Makhanda football needs to take advantage of Maru’s success. “The promotion of Maru is a clear sign of the abundance of talent we have and we need to work together and make sure that we create a good platform for these young players to market themselves so that Maru can help them showcase their talent when travelling around the province. Maru’s success is our success and we need to make sure that all divisions in our association are well run and are all treated with same respect.”
Klaas said his team recently participated in the U14 league and players were still excited. However, he said the league just stopped without any explanation. “I think school football and Makana LFA need to find a way of working together as they share a common goal, but as we stand, that is not the case as each one is doing its own thing. This current state of football needs to change and we need to work together for the future of our kids.”
There are also a few things that football people complained about when Grocott’s Mail visited JD Dlepu Stadium, including the unmarked field, torn goalpost nets, rusty goal posts, lack of running water and toilets and the uncontrollable movement of players as they tend to play for more than one team in one season.
The Makana LFA executive committee has since convened an urgent meeting scheduled for 12 October and have postponed all this weekend’s first division fixtures.
It is hoped that this is a step in the right direction from the officials and football lovers will see the change.
