Bloemfontein Celtic fans (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
The ANC in the Free State will today meet Bloemfontein Celtic supporters at Batho Community Hall to report back following the meeting they had with the club’s management on Monday evening.
The meeting comes after supporters threatened not to vote in the May 8 general elections until the owner, Max Tshabalala, sells the team to a local consortium led by businessperson Sinki Leshabane.
They also threatened to disrupt the ANC provincial manifesto on Saturday at Dr Molemela Stadium.
The supporters have vowed to put pressure on Tshabalala to sell the team after they say he failed to manage it properly. They have since the beginning of the year boycotted matches, saying they would continue to do so until Tshabalala sells.
ANC provincial secretary Paseka Nompondo confirmed to OFM News that they had a crucial meeting with management, supporters, the national executive committee and other stakeholders to find an amicable solution to the challenges faced by the Bloemfontein club.
“We had a meeting on Monday with management, possible buyers, as well as the leadership of supporters. We will make an announcement on Thursday at the supporters’ general meeting.
“As the ANC, we are concerned with what is currently happening at Celtic and we felt we needed to intervene and see how best we could help. But all the details shall be revealed at the meeting,” said Nompondo.
The supporters made it clear that they want Tshabalala out and that the club be sold to a consortium or they won’t attend matches. They say management has failed to run the team effectively, with players constantly on strike over salaries.
The club has been facing financial difficulties in recent years, prompting Tshabalala to put it up for sale, much to the dissatisfaction of supporters who took to the streets in protest.
Supporters have now informed management they would not attend matches until the team was sold, preferably to Leshabane and the consortium.
Leshabane, who owns the ABC Motsepe side, Mangaung United, has since last year shown interest in buying the club but later learned that Tshabalala allegedly owed the South African Revenue Service more than R40 million and this halted the sale until the debt with Sars was settled, and the deal fell through.
– OFM News
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