Black Leopards explain the decision to return to Thohoyandou

Black Leopards have clarified their decision to move their Motsepe Foundation Championship home match against Venda Football Academy (VFA) to Thohoyandou Stadium.

Leopards and VFA will battle it out in the Vhembe Derby on Saturday, 14 January, at 15:30.

The fixture was initially scheduled to take place at Malamulele Stadium, which is Leopards’ current home venue. But due to safety concerns raised by the police JOC and the officials, the match has been moved.

The fixture has also garnered huge interest from the public. The club has since explained the move to Thohoyandou, which has a certified safety capacity of 18000 as compared to the 5000 certified safety capacity of the Malamulele Stadium.

BLACK LEOPARDS’ THOHOYANDOU MOVE EXPLAINED

“This team belongs to the people of Limpopo, hence we have Malamulele, Thohoyandou and Peter Mokaba Stadium as our registered home venues. We will, from time to time, utilise all these venues,” said club director Tshifhiwa Thidiela.

Leopards moved their PSL fixtures from Thohoyandou to Malamulele at the end of last season, citing financial constraints of hosting their matches there. They have hosted seven of their 2022/23 home fixtures at the newly refurbished Malamulele Stadium.

A LOT AT STAKE

Leopards and VFA will meet for the third time in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. Last season, VFA got the better of their rivals after winning the first match 2-1 and playing a 1-1 draw in the second round.

This time around, both clubs are languishing at the bottom half of the table. VFA are second from the bottom, and Leopards are a position above. They are both on 10 points, with Leopards having a superior goal difference.

A win for either club would be a huge leap to climbing up the table, while a defeat would mean more trouble in the relegation battle.

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