Dondol Stars have explained why they decided to sell their SAFA Gauteng ABC Motsepe League status ahead of the new season.
‘Chaba Refete’, as they are popularly known within football circles, sold their status to TUT. The club’s hierarchy cited that they felt saturated and exhausted by the ABC Motsepe League.
In the last two seasons, Dondol managed to qualify for the ABC Motsepe League National Playoffs but couldn’t manage to secure promotion to the Motsepe Foundation Championship.
The club believes that it has done everything it could to gain promotion to the Motsepe Foundation Championship. However, this has taken a toll on the club, hence the decision to sell its status.
As previously reported by this publication, Dondol tried to buy Marumo Gallants’ second-tier SA football status. However, the negotiations did not materialise, and Leruma United managed to buy Bahlabane ba Ntwa’s status.
The club confirmed that this is not the end of Dondol as they are “taking a break and hope to come back more refreshed and determined.”
The amateur side made a name for themselves in the 2023 Nedbank Cup tournament. The side caused upsets for elite league clubs such as SuperSport United and AmaZulu FC to qualify for the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Sadly, Dondol went on to lose in the quarter-finals to Orlando Pirates on penalties [5-4]. The game ended with a 1-1 draw after 120 tiresome minutes.
DONDOL STARS OFFICIAL STATEMENT
“Dondol Stars Football Club management would like to announce the heartbreaking and sad news that the ABC Motsepe status has been sold.
“This comes after the team, on numerous occasions, came short of attaining promotion to the Motsepe Foundation Championship. This decision was seen as the best under the circumstances. We felt that we were saturated and exhausted from the ABC Motsepe League.
“We gave our best, and we have no regrets whatsoever—rather, we have more proud moments. So, we want to take a break and hope to return more refreshed and determined.
“For now, the focus will be on our development team under 13 to 19 and the senior team [Super League], which all falls under MALFA. We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our supporters, technical team and, most importantly, players for sticking with the team throughout.
“We created many great memories, and those memories won’t fade away; they will remain with us forever. So, we know this is very painful to our players and staff, as this was putting bread on the table, and we are deeply sorry.
“The dream of seeing the brand participating in a professional league is still very much on as they say, as long as the dreamer is still alive, the dream is alive. We know this comes as a big shock to many of you who dearly loved the team.
“We understand the shock and we hope you understand that this break from ABC Motsepe League is very much necessary. Our promise is that this is not a goodbye. We will meet again as we believe this brand deserves to be in a professional set-up.”
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