The SAFA manager of football business Mzwandile Maforvane says they moved the final league between MaIndies Ladies and Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies from Giyani stadium to Wits Sports Grounds in Johannesburg because of the value of the game.
This means MaIndies will be playing the African champions away twice this season. Sundowns defended their domestic title with three games to spare and will be given their trophy and medals after the match with the rookies from Limpopo today. Maforvane told iDiski Times that cautions around Covid-19 were also a factor.
“We looked at the value of the game itself. This is the last game of the competition and looking at the status quo around Covid that we need to limit the movement of people, like we would have more people moving from here to Giyani where we are not sure about their state in terms of Covid. But also for the office of the President to be able to attend the event because they need to honour Sundowns in providing their trophy and their medals”
Maforvane continued to say that the Association carried the costs of MaIndies’ travel and stay in Gauteng.
“Apart from that, we moved to ensuring that we pay because if we were going to MaIndies they were not going to pay for accommodation. We made sure that we book their accommodation and that we also pay for their transport” added the administrator.
Maforvane says it is better for one group to travel one direction instead of large groups going to the North. When asked about other stakeholders who would have benefitted from the game being hosted in Limpopo like local based media, Maforvane responded by saying there are more people in Gauteng who can also give the sponsor extra mileage.
“The magnitude of the game itself, we looked at it and said this is the game we need to honour and give mileage to Hollywoodbets because this is the last game that is being played. We need to agree that the activities that we have outside Gauteng always have minimum when it comes to coverage, as compared to people we have from around. I can assure you that people that will be attending the match here especially from the media side, will be more people than what we would be having on the other side. Even the media companies themselves they all move and the stories are covered from Johannesburg. You might have somebody who is just an individual working there but at the end he would have to submit the report to someone who is in Johannesburg for editing,” concluded Maforvane.
Other fixtures on the final day include University of the Western Cape (UWC) against Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies at Siwelele Park, JVW Girls against Richmond United at Sturrock Park, First Touch Academy against Tsunami Queens in Seshego and Golden Ladies against Thunderbirds Ladies in Mahikeng. All matches kickoff at 15:00.
