Cape Town - Cape Town City Council officials are “flabbergasted” by Cape Town City Football Club’s (CTCFC) reaction to not having a stadium available for their league encounter against Maritzburg United.
On Thursday, CTCFC coach Benni McCarthy slammed the City’s officials for not having Cape Town Stadium available for their home league encounter against Maritzburg, which is set to be played on Tuesday.
Read more: McCarthy: Football in Cape Town has been forced into exile
But City of Cape Town officials are furious, saying the club was well aware that the stadium wouldn’t be available.
In a scathing statement on the club’s social media platforms, McCarthy said football in Cape Town had been forced into exile and that the City’s officials had failed to plan and accommodate the club’s
fixtures.
“Football has been sold lies in Cape Town. When there is a private wedding, the stadiums are ready. When there’s a rugby competition, the stadiums are ready. When there’s a Nitro Circus car event, the stadiums are ready.
“For football, Cape Town’s World Cup stadium - unavailable. Athlone Stadium - used by a thousand tenants and now a sand patch. Newlands - unavailable. Make an emergency plan at another venue across the entire Western Cape - um, sorry, we didn’t think that far ahead.”
Cape Town Stadium, where CTCFC’s fixture against Maritzburg United was scheduled to take place, is unavailable due to preparations ahead of the Cape Town leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series on December 9 and 10.
This means CTCFC will be forced to play their home game away at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban.
Stuart Diamond, mayoral committee member for assets and facilities management for the City of Cape Town, said the club had been made aware of the unavailability of Cape Town Stadium two weeks ago.
“I am quite flabbergasted by this U-turn by CTCFC, which comes on the back of a CTCFC press article two weeks ago thanking and commending the City officials and me personally for our support and willingness to go the extra mile.”
He said the game between City and Maritzburg United had not even been scheduled to be played at Cape Town Stadium, but rather at Athlone Stadium.
“It was always the case that the game was due to be played at the Athlone Stadium and the CTCFC was aware of this. CTCFC was informed well in advance that the Cape Town Stadium wasn’t available.
Diamond added that every effort had been made over the past weeks and days to improve the pitch there in the face of the severe drought in Cape Town.
“Our communications with Safa (SA Football Association), the PSL and Ajax, Cape Town’s other premier soccer team, allowed Ajax to host the match last week, with the match commissioner’s approval.
“CTCFC then requested that we assist them with a letter to the PSL asking for the game to be played away. We obliged and did not turn them away.”