The divisions between Safa Buffalo City and its member affiliate the East London Central LFA will take centre stage as the two warring football bodies are due to host parallel Easter tournaments.
While the Safa BC event reaches the last 16 knockout stages this coming weekend, the Central LFA starts with their Inaugural Cliffie Brown and Leon Meyer Easter Tournament at the North End Stadium where 16 clubs are also taking part.
Brown and Meyer were anti-apartheid activists from the North End who were killed by police in 1984 and 1985 respectively.
The bickering between the two parties was laid bare in last year’s Easter weekend when Central, who have previously took part in their mother body’s competition, pulled out to stage their own, citing victimisation.
This is the second year that they continue on that lane as disagreements between them and Safa BC go on unabated.
Central president Gavin van Rooyen said they had given up on Safa Buffalo City because “they are arrogant, ignorant and do not want progress”.
“Our beef with Safa Buffalo City is still going strong because ever since they suspended our clubs last year, we have never heard from them but our concern right now is to ensure that we organise the best Easter tournament,” said Van Rooyen.
“The Easter tournament is a football event that forms part of our annual traditional weekend events at North End.
“Safa Buffalo City failed to divide our structure and we remain strong in promoting football development and have remained unified as clubs and leadership despite having been marginalised and victimised by them for over three years.”
Van Rooyen said the regional body had tried in vain to ensure their tournament and other weekend programmes do not go ahead by taking control of the North End Stadium that is currently leased by Central from the municipality.
But the Buffalo City Metro, which owns all sport facilities in its jurisdiction, extended Central’s lease to mid next year.
Said Van Rooyen: “The ploy was merely to disrupt our football development programmes and forcibly remove our leadership who filed a vote of no confidence against Prince Sibam and his REC in 2014 for maladministration and poor governance.
“Sibam rules the region with fear since his election and has tried to eliminate all those who challenge him through expulsions, suspensions and dissolving elected LFA structures.”
Sibam said he would not comment on “anything that involves East London Central as we at Safa Buffalo City do things by the book in line with Safa statutes”, instead referred further questions to the Safa provincial office.
About their tournament, he said: “Our Easter tournament is going ahead as planned, it started last weekend already and will conclude with the knockout stages during the Easter weekend.”
Safa provincial secretary Isaac Klaas referred questions to the football body’s legal department at the head office.
The head of the legal department Tebogo Motlanthe could not be reached for comment. — zingisam@dispatch.co.za
Parallel Easter events as rift deepens
While the Safa BC event reaches the last 16 knockout stages this coming weekend, the Central LFA starts with their Inaugural Cliffie Brown and Leon Meyer Easter Tournament at the North End Stadium where 16 clubs are also taking part.
Brown and Meyer were anti-apartheid activists from the North End who were killed by police in 1984 and 1985 respectively.
The bickering between the two parties was laid bare in last year’s Easter weekend when Central, who have previously took part in their mother body’s competition, pulled out to stage their own, citing victimisation.
This is the second year that they continue on that lane as disagreements between them and Safa BC go on unabated.
Central president Gavin van Rooyen said they had given up on Safa Buffalo City because “they are arrogant, ignorant and do not want progress”.
“Our beef with Safa Buffalo City is still going strong because ever since they suspended our clubs last year, we have never heard from them but our concern right now is to ensure that we organise the best Easter tournament,” said Van Rooyen.
“The Easter tournament is a football event that forms part of our annual traditional weekend events at North End.
“Safa Buffalo City failed to divide our structure and we remain strong in promoting football development and have remained unified as clubs and leadership despite having been marginalised and victimised by them for over three years.”
Van Rooyen said the regional body had tried in vain to ensure their tournament and other weekend programmes do not go ahead by taking control of the North End Stadium that is currently leased by Central from the municipality.
But the Buffalo City Metro, which owns all sport facilities in its jurisdiction, extended Central’s lease to mid next year.
Said Van Rooyen: “The ploy was merely to disrupt our football development programmes and forcibly remove our leadership who filed a vote of no confidence against Prince Sibam and his REC in 2014 for maladministration and poor governance.
“Sibam rules the region with fear since his election and has tried to eliminate all those who challenge him through expulsions, suspensions and dissolving elected LFA structures.”
Sibam said he would not comment on “anything that involves East London Central as we at Safa Buffalo City do things by the book in line with Safa statutes”, instead referred further questions to the Safa provincial office.
About their tournament, he said: “Our Easter tournament is going ahead as planned, it started last weekend already and will conclude with the knockout stages during the Easter weekend.”
Safa provincial secretary Isaac Klaas referred questions to the football body’s legal department at the head office.
The head of the legal department Tebogo Motlanthe could not be reached for comment. — zingisam@dispatch.co.za
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