The organisers of the Bayhill Premier Cup have made it clear that they will not be held ransom due to operational and executive decisions taken at their tournament.
This follows after Bayview FC’s chairman Mark Rodriques (pictured) questioned his club’s exclusion as a ”standby” team for the 2023 Edition of the Easter Spectacle – where SSS Academy was allowed to come in this year as a late replacement.
The latter received confirmation last week which stated that they have qualified for the Finals as the “best third-placed” team due to the unavailability of one of the teams from Joburg.
Rodriques informed No Bones with Jones that their scenario last year was the same when one of the visiting teams, Dinokeng Academy, had challenges with their transport.
Bayhill’s response regarding the “Bayview scandal” as per the tournament director, Rayaan Alie, was as follows: “Firstly, for the record, we do not answer to Bayview. Bayview is not a participant in our event and we do not have to answer to them. For your records as a journalist… The scenario is: Bayview ended their campaign for 2022/’23 as the best 3rd-placed team after they did not qualify for the tournament. We placed Bayview on standby which they accepted.
“At the 2023 tournament, we did not receive any withdrawals from any team in order for us to activate our standby team. Despite allegations from the always aggrieved Bayview, we have written proof of no withdrawal being received from any team in the 2023 event. Our current scenario is vastly different in relation to Bayview.
“The SSS team ended their 2023/’24 campaign as the best 3rd placed side and accepted to be placed on standby for the 2024 event. Subsequent to their acceptance of the standby position, a spot became available due to a late disappointment.
“We therefore activated SSS as the 1st standby team for 2024 and they accepted to take the spot at the event. There are obviously more teams on standby, and should there be any withdrawals, we will rightfully activate our standby team/s, provided that it is aligned to our standby agreements. We treat this matter as closed,” Alie added.
Meanwhile, Rodriques said that he always felt that they were victimized. “I am not trying to be difficult here nor do I want to cause any dissension. I am merely just asking what the difference is between us last year and SSS’s inclusion this year. Remember, two or three years ago the same was done to Milano. We cannot allow people to undermine the rules of soccer,” Rodriques concluded.
The tournament kics off from 27 March to 31 March at the Erica Park Sport Complex with the final to be played on Easter Monday (1 April) at the Athlone Stadium.
