Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC (TTM) will play their home games at the Lesley Manyathela Stadium in Musina or at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein with effect from January next year if the words of the president of the club, Mr Masala Mulaudzi, are anything to go by.
During an interview with him, Mulaudzi said that the decision to relocate the team to Musina or Bloemfontein was influenced by the fact that using the Thohoyandou Stadium was extremely expensive for the club.
According to him, the club pays around R57 000 to play a home game at the Thohoyandou Stadium. He stated that a huge chunk of their budget was being used towards booking the stadium. He stressed the fact that that was affecting their budget for salaries and the day-to-day administration of the club. He said that he had shared his frustrations with the high-profile officials from Musina and Mangaung municipalities.
Mulaudzi went on to say that the information he got from Musina was that the Lesley Manyathela Stadium was not yet ready to host National First Division League games and that it should be ready by the beginning of next year. "Should the Lesley Manyathela not be ready by January, we shall be forced to use the Dr Molemela stadium in Bloemfontein," he said.
Responding to Mr Mulaudzi's statement, the spokesperson for the Musina Municipality, Mr Wilson Dzebu, confirmed that Mr Mulaudzi had indeed made an enquiry regarding the availability of the Lesley Manyathela stadium. He said that any professional football club was welcome to utilise the stadium as long as they followed the necessary processes.
Dzebu's counterpart from the Thulamela Local Municipality, Mr Nndwamato Tshiila, expressed his shock and disappointment over TTM's decision to relocate the team to Musina or Bloemfontein. He said that they had never received any complaint from Mr Mulaudzi regarding the tariffs to utilise the Thohoyandou Stadium.
Tshiila said that the municipality had had a cordial relationship with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila FC over the past years. Should they finally relocate to Musina or Bloemfontein, TTM will be the second club to cut their ties with the Thulamela Local Municipality. Black Leopards FC were the first to say goodbye to the municipality at the beginning of this year. Lidoda duvha are now using the Malamulele Stadium as the team's home ground.