Sandiso Phaliso
Hundreds of aspiring footballers have been left in limbo following a succession of thefts at the Brown’s Farm stadium in Cape Town which have forced the facility to close down.
Criminals have for weeks been stripping the stadium bare of all its fittings, railings and miscellaneous steel to sell for scrap.
The vandalism of the stadium caused the security company guarding the facility to abandon the site on Wednesday. This is an issue that has become a safety concern, among affiliated clubs.
The changing rooms, toilets, storeroom and fence around the pitch have been vandalised, with electrical plugs, water taps, toilets, sinks, and doors showing damage.
The vandalism of the facility had put children who played football matches there at a disadvantage.
Evening games scheduled during the week and weekends had to be postponed because electricity cables had been stolen.
There are 36 clubs in the football association, and each has no fewer than four junior teams.
Khanyo Majezi, the chairman of one of the clubs, FC Porto, said it was sad that sports grounds in the townships have always been targets of vandalism.
Majezi said vandalism was “affecting our football and most importantly will lead to more crime because our aim with football is not only development but we want to fight crime and get children out of the streets.”
“With no proper football fields it means we are back to having children roaming the streets with nothing to do or supervision. It is frustrating to talk about this issue.”
Greater Philippi Local Football Association president Lucas Mlandezwa told Scrolla.Africa it was disappointing that the stadium was losing valuable material.
“We are one of the disadvantaged communities with no proper facilities for our future generation,” said Mlandezwa.
“It is in our hands as a community to stop this criminal behaviour because these criminals are known but nothing is reported to assist SAPS. We urge everybody to come together and fight crime as our communities are no longer safe.”
City of Cape Town Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross, told Scrolla.Africa “Crime in the area (of Browns Farm) is increasing.
“Vandalism of the City facilities, including the theft of fencing, has become a daily occurrence throughout the metropole. This is costing the department millions of rands to replace or fix, only to get stolen again,” she said.
Police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut encouraged people claiming that they alerted SAPS without any response to try again and “to report the lack of service delivery to the management of Nyanga police, so that the matter can be investigated with the view of possible remedial steps.”
“This office is not in a position to respond to claims which are yet to be substantiated. Serious allegations are levelled at police, and this is not viewed lightly,” he said.
Pictured above: Theft within the stadium
Image source: Sandiso Phaliso
