The court case between the 14 Sasol League Women’s teams and Safa Western Cape, which disrupted the competition for the whole season, has been postponed until 3 November.
This was done to give the Safa WC chairman, Tankiso Modipa, and his secretary, Nadia Konstabel, time to find new legal representation. They were, however, ordered to pay the legal costs of Adv. Vernon Seymour, who represents the 14 clubs, for the day.
This comes after their legal team withdrew on Sunday, which really put the province on the back foot. It must also be noted that it is the third set of lawyers who have turned their backs on the province.
Be that as it may, Justice Pangarkar, who presides over the matter, was also reluctant to continue with the case because the province did not have a defence team to represent them.
It’s believed the outcome of the consequences could be great, hence the judge felt that, given the scenario, she did not want them not to have any legal representation. She therefore granted the province’s request to postpone until the first week in November.
Meanwhile, it appears to be a moral victory for Seymour and his 14 clients, as it has been almost two years since they have been at loggerheads with Safa WC.
The kernel of the dispute, apart from non-payment of outstanding monies, is the unlawful expansion of the league. Safa WC did not comply with the Sasol League rules when they added clubs that did not earn promotion.
This has financial implications for the clubs because now they are being told they must play more matches. The province cannot already afford to pay the grants for 18 clubs. How are they going to manage 24 clubs?
The clubs have, in the interim, formed their own rebel league called the Kamisa League – which is weirdly ‘endorsed’ by Safa CT – and run by the clubs themselves.
