Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association (LFA) president Maisha Molepo has called on the local Zone 13 leadership of the ANC to put pressure on the newly elected executive of the City of Johannesburg to finally fix the iconic Alexandra Stadium.
Maisha, who is also the vice-president of Safa Joburg Region under the leadership of Phil Mogodi, said they were working closely with the Premier Soccer League (PSL) with the intention of bringing the Absa Premiership’s Reserve League, better known as the MultiChoice Diski Challenge, to Alexandra.
Speaking at the funeral service of the late honourary life president of the Alex Northrand LFA and its former longest serving president Moss Selolo who died on 10 January, Molepo said the stadium needed to be revamped to meet the requirements and standards set by the Premier Soccer League.
Selolo died two days after accompanying a visiting Premier Soccer League entourage that had come to inspect the stadium for compliance on 8 January before the league could decide to bring the Diski Challenge to the township.
“We want to bring the football glory days back to the soccer-starved people of Alexandra but before this can happen, we need to ensure the stadium complies with the requirements of the league,” Molepo said at a service attended by various leaders of the ANC and the City, including the South African Football Association president Dr Danny Jordaan.
The iconic stadium used to host some of the top games of the predecessor of the Premier Soccer League, the National Professional Soccer League and teams such as Orlando Pirates, the former Moroka Swallows, Arcadia Callies, Kaizer Chiefs and many more played at this stadium.
Jordaan paid tribute to the late Selolo, fondly known as Bra Moss in the football fraternity, describing him as a football icon and an astute administrator of the beautiful game who believed in less talk and more action.
“Even after retiring from the day-to-day running of football in the township, Bra Moss worked for football until he took his last breath,” said Jordaan. “On January 8, he was part of the local leadership that welcomed a PSL delegation that inspected the stadium and two days later in the early hours of January 10, we received the sad news of his passing.
“He was a man who so loved football and gave it all his time. Even his sons have confirmed that they scantly ever saw their father at home, as he was busy with football matters. To his family, I say this should never blur his love for you but reinforce his commitment, not just to you, but his broader family of community service.”
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