Benny's Care Academy won their protest when they lodged a complaint alleging that Kabelo High had fielded an over-age player during the Metropolitan SASFA U/16 tournament that was played last month at Mahwelereng Stadium.

The South African School Football Association (SASFA) has confirmed that Kabelo Secondary School was disqualified after they were found guilty of fielding an over-age player during the recent Metropolitan tournament. Last Friday, the South African Football Association (SAFA) Appeals Board upheld the decision by the disciplinary committee (DC) which had found Kabelo Secondary School guilty. Subsequently, the school that was supposed to represent Limpopo in Durban has been disqualified. Vhembe District’s Benny’s Care Academy and Hudson Ntsanwisi High School will now be carrying the province’s hopes in the National Metropolitan SASFA U/16 championships, which kicked off on Wednesday.

Limpopo SASFA president Hulisani Mabasa said that Kabelo Secondary School had literally disqualified themselves after they refused to comply with the instructions of the set task team, the DC and the SAFA Appeals Board. “First the task team visited the school and the school did not make the boy available to the team. Then the DC instructed that the boy should be taken to the Department of Home Affairs for verification, but instead of complying, Kabelo Secondary opted to appeal the decision. When the appeals board came up with the same instruction, the school still did not want to comply.

"If you have nothing to hide, why not make the boy available and have his age verified at Home Affairs, the only place where ages can be verified through the checking of fingerprints?” asked Mabasa. Asked what sanctions had been handed down to the school, Mabasa said that the provincial SASFA committee would have a meeting this week and decide on the sanctions. “The matter of sending the legitimate school to the nationals was urgent as time had already run out. The DC and appeal board was to look at evidence provided and make a decision on who goes and who remains behind, and the sanctions will be discussed provincially," added Mabasa.

Kabelo Secondary School’s Peter Mathekga said that the school would not let the matter rest as SASFA had broken their own rules. He said that there was no rule, regulation or article which stated a player should be taken to Home Affairs for age verification. “Whenever our school wins, there is always a conspiracy. We won the Copa Coca Cola and the same thing happened. There are certain individuals who are targeting us and it is high time we dealt with these issues once and for all,” said Mathekga. He also indicated that the school governing body (SGB) would meet to forge a way forward, and that taking the matter to arbitration would be the likely route to take.

“Jeff Mashele and the entire committee are a law unto themselves. The DC violated its own rules and the unconstitutional appeals board just rubberstamped the decision of the DC without looking at the facts. They (the committee) are public servants and we might take them to the Public Protector,” the confident Mathekga said. Meanwhile, Benny’s Care Academy coach Justice Matloga said they were ready and they were preparing thoroughly, knowing that they had a strong case against Kabelo Secondary.