Durban - THE Hoy Park sports facility, which falls under the eThekwini metro’s parks and recreation portfolio, is in a state of disrepair and its clubhouse is falling apart.
The grass is overgrown and parts of the clubhouse roof have caved in.
Claude Courtois, a business development director in the sports sector who has a history with Hoy Park dating back to the 1970s, said he was appalled by the state of the facility when he visited it recently.
“It is heartbreaking. Hoy Park was a bastion of local football in KwaZulu-Natal. It was a jewel among football grounds and football facilities. This was one of the most sought-after football facilities in KZN, and it was also probably one of the best in amateur football in the country,” he said.
Courtois said the facility had been used by the various associations that ran amateur football in KZN.
“It is absolutely sickening that this hallowed football facility, scene of so many of football’s greatest memories, for players and spectators alike, can be allowed to degenerate and to fall into ruins,” he said.
The Mauritian expat played for Hoy Park Apollo, an amalgamation of various clubs which was eventually renamed Hoy Park, in the early 1980s.
“We had some very successful years at Hoy Park, eventually ending up in the Natal League. I got increasingly involved in managing all aspects relating to the running and administration of all football-related matters at Hoy Park,” he said.
The KZN High Schools Football Association felt that schools should become the hub of football development.
Spokesperson Stef Crasso said: “Schools that have decent facilities have good security. I remember a Fifa Grassroots coaching workshop taking place at Hoy Park in 2012. Imagine a Fifa delegation returning to that venue to present a course. Safa has a document that says a vibrant schools football programme must be implemented by 2022. I am waiting patiently for that to happen.”
Durban residents took to social media to vent their frustrations about the state of the facility.
Anthony Feuilherade said: “This was expected. Look at all football fields - Parkhill, Ramblers, Umbilo - I can carry on counting. It is pathetic and criminal that this government can allow this to happen. Our football standards are so low in this country. It will only get worse.”
The municipality blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the state of the sports facility, but there was already a plan to refurbish the building.
Spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said: “We have just emerged from a very tight lockdown, and as a result there will always be a backlog in terms of grass-cutting and the maintenance of city buildings.
“It must not be blown out of proportion that the city left it to rot, but we have been impeded by circumstances that are beyond our control, circumstances that everybody is fully aware of: Covid-19.”
Daily News