Football shall be played – but at what and whose expense?
The lip service from the local football authorities is always admirable when it is proclaimed that everything done by the custodian of amateur football, is for the benefit of the young talent because they are the next generation of Cape Town and the broader Western Cape’s football stars – male and female.
The powers that be claim that their aim is to ensure that those young males and females – registered under the umbrella of the Cape football Mother body – get nurtured and honed and more importantly have a platform to shine.
Just recently the region earned a feather in its cap when it sent out an extremely lengthy press release to indicate its stance on gender-based violence and how it will not tolerate this sickness in its midst.
Well done guys, this was hugely admirable.
However, on the other hand these very same thoughts and concerns expressed by those running the show are non-existent when it comes to protecting the interests of the very same young male and female footballers on the playing field.
Why is it so difficult to expedite the deployment of emergency services at football fields at all LFA’s or events?
I guess one can come to only one conclusion, the priorities and thought processes of the Mother body aren’t only skewed, but can be summed up as incompetent, uneducated and scandalously scrupulous.
This thought was provoked after the first round of Engen KO qualifiers concluded on a rather sombre note following a 17-year-old player from Rygersdal who broke his collarbone during a match – with no medics in sight at the Sport fields of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology on Sunday.
The obvious question that comes to mind is, how can a conglomerate such as the petrol magnate not adhere to basic competition rules and safety services which should be at the forefront of any tournament, let alone a national event?
Another culprit that should be questioned with this type of reckless rationale is Safa Cape Town. I mean the tournament should not have been allowed to go ahead, isn’t it? As is the case with other community clubs when they apply to host their respective signature events annually.
Why are these local clubs, that are already struggling to keep their clubs afloat, always bullied and forced to comply with the rules and regulations but others not? Not too long ago it was Sport Pesa that came away with murder and now Engen.
Furthermore, the timing of the Engen was another aspect that was questioned by the majority of the clubs – a week before one of the biggest Easter spectaculars in the u.19 Bayhill Premier Cup which starts on 16 April at the Erica Park Sports Complex in Belhar – with the finals at the Athlone Stadium on Easter Monday.
Bear in mind that the very same football talent that Safa CT caters for is also very much susceptible to becoming an unfortunate casualty due to their gross negligence.
What a shame it is not for the youngster from Rygersdal FC who might not get another opportunity to feature in the Bayhill – God forbid.
Why certain LFA’s also didn’t excuse those clubs tied up in major events, is also beyond comprehension… The local football landscape depicts a notion that to think logic nowadays, requires a superpower!
