Black Leopards FC president David Thidiela has issued an apology to the club’s supporters and other stakeholders following the player shortage drama on Saturday in their opening game of the new season.
Lidoda Duvha played their first Motsepe Foundation Championship match of the 2025/26 season with 10 men at the Thohoyandou Stadium in Limpopo.
They also used defender Thendo Mukumela as the goalkeeper on the day. The club was heavily criticised not by their supporters but by sections of the football fraternity.
As a result, Leopards started their campaign to gain promotion to the top flight with a 3-0 loss to Casric Stars. The club is currently struggling with a transfer ban.
BLACK LEOPARDS SEEK CLARITY ON THE TRANSFER BAN INHERITED FROM ALL STARS FC
As FARPost reported on Sunday, Leopards were unable to register their new players ahead of the first match of the season. The club faces a transfer ban from FIFA due to the outstanding issues involving All Stars FC.
Following their relegation at the end of the 2022/23 season, Leopards purchased the Motsepe Foundation Championship status of All Stars. However, it appears that All Stars had a pending dispute with one of their players, who took them to FIFA.
This publication further understands that FIFA imposed a ban on All Stars [Leopards] towards the end of last season.
It also appears that at the time, Leopards sought further clarity from FIFA through their lawyers with no success.
The matter has since come back to haunt them, and they are now unable to register their new players. Only 10 players were available for their first match of the season against Casric Stars without a recognised goalkeeper.
DAVID THIDIELA ISSUES AN APOLOGY TO THE CLUB FAITHFUL AND VOWS TO RESOLVE THE MATTER
During an interview with Phalaphala FM on Sunday, Thidiela acknowledged their mistake and promised their supporters to sort out the matter. The club is scheduled to play their second match against AmaTuks on Sunday.
“I am hurt by what happened. So I am here to sincerely apologise to those who went to the stadium on Saturday and those who were expecting positive results,” said Thidiela.
“We would like to apologise that we made an error. We received information on Friday that the club from which we obtained the status had outstanding issues. But when we bought that status, we were not aware.
“I am going to start dealing with this issue as soon as Monday, so that on Sunday, we are ready for the match. I want to apologise to the players as well. It’s not our fault, but we have to acknowledge that the matter has affected us.”
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