Safa Cape Town has emphatically stated that they will clamp down on clubs that ‘default’ matches nilly-willy and for their own convenience and gain.
This was one of the major talking points that was raised at the region’s meeting with its representatives of the Third Division on Thursday at the Athlone Stadium.
There were calls for harsher punishment in the form of punitive measures, but it remains to be seen how the Cape’s mother body will respond.
The head of competitions Bayanda Sikiti said they are aware that this is happening frequently amongst the clubs for various reasons – good or bad.
“There are some clubs that default due to genuine reasons, and then you have clubs that are doing it for reasons that are not within the rules of fair play,” Sikiti told No bones with Jones.
“But this is really difficult to prove, however, we will monitor proceedings going forward as we want to clamp down on this as it affects clubs that are or in the running for a league title, as well as those fighting relegation,” he added.
Third Division clubs are allowed a maximum of two defaults for the season. After a second default, they will get red-flagged by the region to warn them that they are treading on thin ice.
After a third default the region will automatically expel clubs from the competition as per clause 28.5 of the South African Football Association’s uniform rule book.
Meanwhile the treasurer Wayne Weitz has also laid down the law regarding the rules and regulations of the registration process.
Clubs are allowed to register a maximum of 40 members per season as well as five additional members consisting of the technical team.
Weitz pointed out that late registrations have become a “nuisance” of late.
“Please guys don’t come at the 99th hour to complete your registration process,” said Weitz.
“Make sure it is done timeously. There are platforms such as MySafa and it can also be done in person at our offices. But please make sure that it is done on time,” Weitz added.
The region has released the Nedbank Cup fixtures which is also an indication of the start of the season for the clubs in the Fourth Tier.
Vasco da Gama will open proceedings with the prelim round against Greenwood Athletic on October 24th followed by the Round of 16 four days later.
The League will kick-off immediately once the Nedbank Cup is concluded. The season will end on May 4th, 2024.
