The powers that be within the soccer fraternity need to intervene urgently in the Musina soccer affairs in order to halt the shenanigans engulfing the Musina District Football Association (MDFA).

According to MDFA co-administrator, Ernest Rammbuda, if soccer bosses keep turning a blind eye towards the running of soccer in Musina, MDFA’s demise is imminent.

The nine-team MDFA league kicked off on the weekend of 19-20 November, 2005, with only two officials in charge. The rest of the administrators have thrown in the towel because of alleged misadministration of resources by certain officials. Ideally, the league must be comprised of 14 teams, says Rammbuda.

When the 2004/2005 season was completed, the league champions, Western Stars, failed to get promoted to the Solly’s Regional League (SRL) because of financial constraints. Coincidentally, a Musina team, Copperport, was dropped from the SRL.

When other teams in the MDFA also indicated that they could not afford to participate in the SRL because of a lack of funds, Copperport was persuaded to retain its SRL status in order to represent Musina.

Amid MDFA’s boardroom discussions about the desperate situation overwhelming Musina football, four teams decided to call it quits. Seven Stars, Izinyoka, Pull Together and Sundowns resigned their status from the MDFA, emphasizing a lack of funds as the cause of their downfall.

Fortunately, other four teams were on hand to rescue the league’s existence. Jubas FC, Sikhosana FC, Lovers FC, Happy People and Young Stars came on board to affiliate with the MDFA, just when the prophets of doom where about to predict the end of soccer in Musina.

Rammbuda said the MDFA was also desperate to save the under 12, 14 and 17 leagues which were also being operated without sponsorships.

“Because of lack of funds to run the leagues, when most of the youngsters reach senior level, they are forced to pursue their soccer careers with other teams outside Musina. This is contributing towards the demise of football in Musina,” said Rammbuda.

If the MDFA could get a sponsorship, Musina could continue to produce superb players such as the late Orlando Pirates goal poacher, Lesley “Slow Poison” Manyathela, Dynamos striker, Josam Ndou, and Ria Stars utility player, John Ndou, said Rammbuda.

The lack of funds, added Rammbuda, could also be attributed to fact that the South African Football Association (SAFA) was not channeling resources towards the smaller leagues such as the MDFA.

“Our league pays a R1000 affiliation fee to SAFA East Region per season. After completing the season, there is no monetary prize except the promotion of our league’s champions to the SRL. To affiliate with the SRL comes at a cost of R2 300, which is a serious burden for our clubs because, on top of that, they have to raise funds for transport and soccer kit,” said Rammbuda.

What boggled his mind, added Rammbuda, was that the Musina community showed a lot of support for soccer but they failed to comprehend that, in order to put Musina on the world map, they needed to dig deep into their pockets and invest in the soccer development structures already set up by the MDFA. (Source: Musina Communications)