Sometimes one wonders if those who have been elected to power to serve football and the public’s interest don’t want peace, but problems instead!
And allow me to elaborate….
For the mere fact that the football hierarchy has once squandered a golden opportunity to not only unite the Cape’s football fraternity but also to fill up the Athlone Stadium for the Coke Cup showdown on Saturday.
Many times, these administrators speak about football and sport having the power to unite, but these opportunities do not always get maximised when the opportunity presents itself.
Instead, it has come to light that while the three respective regional finals will be played, other affiliate members of Safa CT, such as Cape District LFA, will be hosting their own KO Finals only a few kilometers away at William Herbert in Wynberg.
Then the Nedbank Cup fixtures of the ABC Motsepe League will also be played on Saturday.
Now, how’s that for uniting football in Cape Town? Not to mention the poor planning from the region pertaining to the Coke Cup’s kit launch on Tuesday, which also clashed with Bafana Bafana’s all-important World Cup Qualifier against Rwanda.
One has to ask where the planning and organisational skills of Safa Cape Town and Safa Western Cape come from? Could the two entities not have collaborated and worked to find a solution to ensure that all roads lead to Athlone Stadium on Saturday? The Coke Cup is, without doubt, the highlight of Safa Cape Town’s soccer season.
Look, it is no secret that Safa Cape Town’s president, Bennett Bailey (pictured left), and his colleague from Safa Western Cape, Tankiso Modipa (pictured right), are not braai buddies, but surely they could have looked past their differences to have a united day for cup football in the Mother City.
And not to mention Cape District, who in the past have always made sure that they stray off the path when it comes to working with the mother body.
It would have been quite interesting to see what would have happened if Ashford Athletic, the blue-eyed boys of Cape District, had beaten Hanover Park in the Coke Cup semi-final last week.
Would it not have been an ideal opportunity to cancel all other football activities to allow all the clubs under the ambit of the region, as well as the province, to be present at the prestigious Coke Cup finals?
The sad reality is that our football leaders have once again failed dismally – and I say this with a heavy heart. And it’s not uttered to be facetious but rather to help search for common ground on how to work together for the greater cause of football.
