As if paying Dr Ali Elzargha R220 000 on Friday last week was not enough, Marumo Gallants have to part ways with hundreds of thousands if they want to be allowed to use the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Gallants are scheduled to host Chippa United on Wednesday, 12 April and SuperSport United on Tuesday, 18 April. The club has surprisingly returned to Polokwane after ditching the facility for Royal Bafokeng, Dobsonville and Mangaung late last year.
They had complained about the lack of benefits playing at Peter Mokaba, which subsequently led to the termination of their three-year contract with the Polokwane Municipality.
The two parties had a deal that saw the club using the stadium for free. The Municipality would take 80 per cent and the club 20 per cent of gate takings.
The standard fee to use the 2010 World Cup venue is R140 000. This excludes the PSL mandatory requirements such as EMS and security.
NO PAY NO PLAY AT PETER MOKABA STADIUM
FARPost contacted the Polokwane Municipality, who confirmed that they are awaiting the club to make payments and will not play if there is no payment.
“There is no facility which will be opened for them [If they don’t pay],” said the Manager of Sport and Recreation at the Municipality, Manhlako Sebaka.
“What has happened is that they asked if the facility is available on the 12th. We confirmed to them that the facility was not booked. But instead of coming back to us to ask for the invoice or a quote, they went ahead. As they would do in whatever capacity to register with the PSL that they will be playing at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.”
MARUMO GALLANTS’ RELATIONSHIP WITH POLOKWANE MUNICIPALITY BROKE DOWN
“It has been proven [by the court] that, according to them, we don’t have an agreement. So if we don’t have an agreement, why should we have an agreement today?
Gallants’ relationship with the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace authorities has also collapsed. This is after the club allegedly packed their bags to Mangaung without notice.
The club will be hosting a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday. They are set to address the recent embarrassing saga of their two officials who were held hostage in Libya.
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