In an excited bid to get Mthatha Bucks ready for their national debut, municipal bosses at local and district level have stumped up R2-million for a facelift to Mthatha Stadium.
The side, which earned promotion to the National First Division (NFD) after the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs in Kimberley at the weekend, kick off their campaign with a home game against seasoned NFD side Vasco da Gama on August 22, said team manager Doc Tukute.
King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) is one of the most financially unstable local municipalities in the province and the stadium, supposed to have been completed in time for June 2010 Soccer World Cup, was only officially opened two years later.
Then-sport MEC Xoliswa Tom blamed the delay on structural defects. The stadium, built at a cost of R230-million, was mired in controversy from the start.
First, an East London company claimed a R6-million tender bribe had been demanded by two people allegedly part of a tender adjudication board.
It was also reported in the Dispatch that the facility was designed to accommodate more than 17000 spectators, but only two phases were completed leaving a capacity of only 6000 spectators.
In April, Safa’s OR Tambo district municipality soccer bosses issued a plea to the government to fund the stadium’s completion.
Speaking at the team’s welcoming party on Monday, OR Tambo community services portfolio head Siyakholwa Mlamli revealed the two municipalities had pooled their cash to ensure the stadium was ready for the team.
“We put aside R2-million,” he said.
“We will look into building a venue operating centre (VOC) for the media, security personnel and police.”
Mlamli said they wanted to make sure the field met Premier Soccer League (PSL) minimum requirements by the time the NFD season kicked off.
At the time of the team’s promotion the municipalities had been in negotiation with the Eastern Cape’s only PSL side, Chippa United, about using the stadium for some of Chippa’s home games.
Addressing Mthatha Bucks on Monday, KSD mayor Nonkoliso Ngqongwa assured the club her municipality would do all in its power to ensure there was adequate infrastructure for the team and fans.
She said they could practice in the stadium for free rather than relocating to another city because of poor facilities.
Ngqongwa admitted that the municipality was facing major infrastructure challenges, especially with its road networks.
She said municipal bossesq would look into the sports component when they adjusted the budget for the current financial year.
Safa’s OR Tambo president Xolile Nkompela said in April that the stadium was already being used for non-soccer matters such as memorials and social events.
Senior provincial sports, recreation, arts and culture manager Bafundi Makhubalo has told Nkompela that R500-million is needed to complete the last phase and that “stakeholders” have to work together to lobby for the cash.
Tukute told the Dispatch yesterday they were planning to turn the stadium into a “slaughter house” for the upcoming season.
He also revealed that he had already approached the PSL for a list of requirements for the stadium to be approved. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
Cash boost for Bucks campaign
The side, which earned promotion to the National First Division (NFD) after the ABC Motsepe League national playoffs in Kimberley at the weekend, kick off their campaign with a home game against seasoned NFD side Vasco da Gama on August 22, said team manager Doc Tukute.
King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) is one of the most financially unstable local municipalities in the province and the stadium, supposed to have been completed in time for June 2010 Soccer World Cup, was only officially opened two years later.
Then-sport MEC Xoliswa Tom blamed the delay on structural defects. The stadium, built at a cost of R230-million, was mired in controversy from the start.
First, an East London company claimed a R6-million tender bribe had been demanded by two people allegedly part of a tender adjudication board.
It was also reported in the Dispatch that the facility was designed to accommodate more than 17000 spectators, but only two phases were completed leaving a capacity of only 6000 spectators.
In April, Safa’s OR Tambo district municipality soccer bosses issued a plea to the government to fund the stadium’s completion.
Speaking at the team’s welcoming party on Monday, OR Tambo community services portfolio head Siyakholwa Mlamli revealed the two municipalities had pooled their cash to ensure the stadium was ready for the team.
“We put aside R2-million,” he said.
“We will look into building a venue operating centre (VOC) for the media, security personnel and police.”
Mlamli said they wanted to make sure the field met Premier Soccer League (PSL) minimum requirements by the time the NFD season kicked off.
At the time of the team’s promotion the municipalities had been in negotiation with the Eastern Cape’s only PSL side, Chippa United, about using the stadium for some of Chippa’s home games.
Addressing Mthatha Bucks on Monday, KSD mayor Nonkoliso Ngqongwa assured the club her municipality would do all in its power to ensure there was adequate infrastructure for the team and fans.
She said they could practice in the stadium for free rather than relocating to another city because of poor facilities.
Ngqongwa admitted that the municipality was facing major infrastructure challenges, especially with its road networks.
She said municipal bossesq would look into the sports component when they adjusted the budget for the current financial year.
Safa’s OR Tambo president Xolile Nkompela said in April that the stadium was already being used for non-soccer matters such as memorials and social events.
Senior provincial sports, recreation, arts and culture manager Bafundi Makhubalo has told Nkompela that R500-million is needed to complete the last phase and that “stakeholders” have to work together to lobby for the cash.
Tukute told the Dispatch yesterday they were planning to turn the stadium into a “slaughter house” for the upcoming season.
He also revealed that he had already approached the PSL for a list of requirements for the stadium to be approved. — sikhon@dispatch.co.za
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