Muraida’s removal by Safa Vhembe splits region
Itani Netshivhulana, more commonly known as Muraida, was removed from his position as the general secretary of the Makhado Local Football Association.
LIMPOPO – The future of the general secretary of the Makhado Local Football Association (MLFA), Itani Netshivhulana, more commonly known as Muraida, hangs in the balance after Safa Vhembe removed him from his position.
Netshivhulana was elected general secretary of the association on July 30 during a congress held at the Makhado Show Grounds after the position was left vacant by Freddy Phathela, who was elected as the new chairperson of the association.
The decision to remove Netshivhulana is likely to split the region after members from the Nzhelele region made it clear that they were not happy with the decision.
“We expected Safa to come up with such a decision. It’s all about connections at Safa,” said a member of one of the teams who did not want his name to be mentioned.
“This is not a chieftaincy, but an organisation that is ruled by the people who were voted in by the people,” said another team member.
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Safa Vhembe president, Jabulani Ndove responded by saying that the Mabaleng Sport Development had submitted the dispute, alleging that Netshivhulana did not qualify as an office bearer as he was not a Makhado resident.
According to Ndove, Safa Vhembe had referred the matter to the dispute-resolution committee, who found that Netshivhulana had dual residency but did not qualify for the position.
Ndove said that several articles of the statutes of the MLFA had to be considered, one such being that Netshivhulana stayed at Tshithuthuni and at Siloam village.
Siloam is regarded as a soft boundary by the local football association. However, Netshivhulana’s team, Muraida FC, have their home ground at Sendedza village, which falls under the Makhado Local Municipality and is currently campaigning within the the Safa Vhembe regional league.
The statement from Safa Vhembe indicates that Netshivhulana had paid the R300 affiliation fee to Makhado on June 14 and the payment was the membership fee for his club as per the LFA’s statutes – the first payment made since the team was promoted to the regional league.
The statement further indicates that Netshivhulana’s team was not yet regarded as an associate member of the Makhado LFA. Since the payment of the affiliation fee, no ordinary congress has been held where new members could be accepted.
In his response, Netshivhulana said that he was still waiting for legal advice before deciding on a way forward. He said that if any dispute about his eligibility for office existed, it should have been raised at the July congress, and not two months later.
