Football, whether on grassroots or senior level, should unite Cape Town’s football public – not divide it.
And don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic that clubs under the banner of Safa Cape Town have the drive and willingness to be proactive and contribute positively to their respective clubs with their various initiatives such as hosting tournaments, whether at the junior or senior level.
But it appears that it’s just another method of boosting their coffers, the good clubs excluded of course that his development and growth of the game as their primary goal.
But let truth be told, these tournaments, scattered around the Mother City, actually hurt what it set out and intended to do – IN MY OPINION at least!
This past weekend various tournaments were held like – Greenwood Athletic’s Unity Cup, FN Rangers’ u16 youth tournament, Rygate LFA’s u21 tournament, Strandfontein FC’s tournaments by the Sea in Mitchells Plain, the Champions League event held in Khayelitsha – which I feel, divided the football fraternity to such an extent, that coaches and parents alike had to prioritize and box smartly as to where they would throw their support.
It was a nightmare from a media perspective as well, as there were so many things happening at once – the one event taking away the shine from the other. Also spare a thought for the parents and family members that needed to choose and prioritize between their siblings as it was just impossible to keep up.
Look, no one is in football to be a party pooper or to be too critical, but having so many events simultaneously actually does more harm than good. This is why Safa Cape Town should seriously revisit its approach and football calendar when granting clubs permission to host their respective tournaments, as it does not grow the game in any. way.
Does just sanctioning tournaments left, right and centre score brownie points, or should there not be a gauge on how any event could have a bigger and more meaningful impact on the game. Furthermore, the region has a football calendar which should give a clear indication what is happening and when. Should this not prevent these logistical nightmares?
The ladies’ u21 event held at the Johnson Road Sport Complex is probably the exception, as female soccer has not been played competitively for two years now due to the 14 Sasol Ladies’ teams who are embroiled in a legal battle with Safa Western Cape.
But for the rest, it comes as just another glorified event to boost the coffers.
Some might argue and say they run a loss, and it’s hosted for the youth and future of the game, but the reality is that it fragments the football public more than ever. Imagine these tournaments were spread evenly – then more clubs would benefit.
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