Real Overs Football Club is having a problem with their soccer field because of the overgrown grass inside and outside the field of play in Schoongezicht.
The club coach, Mr Vusi Magagula says he has tried all he can to get the grass cut, but he is not getting any help from the local municipality because the ground belongs to them.
“I raised the issue of the grass two weeks ago and I was told that the grass cutting tractor has a mechanical problem. The last time this ground was cut was in January. We used the services of a caretaker of another soccer field and he told us to pay him R800 and to buy 20-litre petrol for the machine. He also did half a job because one part of the field was not cut claiming that he has run out of petrol. We are forced to use an alternative ground for our home games,” said Magagula.
Magagula added to say that the only thing he receives are promises from the municipality and lately his calls are ignored.
Another problem for the team is that once the grass is cut, other teams came and use the field, but with the overgrown grass nobody uses the ground.
Some of his players are not coming for practices fearing injuries.
Magagula feels that they are not treated the same as the other grounds owned by the municipality in Klarinet and in Pine Ridge.
They cannot even line the pitch because of the grass. Visiting teams are also complaining about the poor condition of the field.
“I’m failing to understand that the municipality has only one tractor. We have teams in different age categories including our main team which makes it impossible to plan our fixture because we literally do not have a home ground. We also have a girl’s soccer team that cannot use the ground because of safety issues. The ground is also used by the nearby Witbank Primary School for their sports activities. What are we telling our children if they cannot use a soccer field? We are driving them to smoke drugs because they can no longer play soccer. We hope that somebody could come and help us with this problem. We also do not have a sponsor which makes it hard to get the ground in good condition. ” concluded Magagula.
A questionnaire was sent to the municipality for their response, but no reply was received before going to print.
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