A local soccer league is calling on authorities to assist them in readying a field to continue their youth upliftment initiatives.
Christopher and Charlene Grant, founders of the Sunday league, say they have been playing at the Lansport Road field in the area as their only option.
Their call now is to see the field maintained and watered, to ensure the grass is rehabilitated and safe for play.
“Water is the main issue, we have spoken to the councillor and his response was that the City of Cape Town won’t water the parks,” says Charlene.
“To play at other fields it will cost our clubs to travel and we will need to belong to their unions. All we want is for someone to water the fields.”
The league started last year in a quest to keep children away from drugs, alcohol and gangsterism and occupy themselves with healthy alternatives. They started with 16 clubs made up of 20 players each, from the local area. The interest in the 2022 league has grown to 22 clubs, including clubs from outside the area.
Their hope is to resume in March.
“The league has been doing very well. We want to get back up and running before March. People have been hurt and we hope it can be fixed up before then,” says Charlene. “You can ask anyone in the community from the time we started, a lot has calmed down. Now that the league has stopped a lot of the children have gone back to their old ways because they don’t have anything else to do.”
Mayco member for Community Services and Health Patricia van Der Ross says the City is aware of the use of this field. The field was identified as an informal soccer pitch by the councillor, she adds.
“This field in Lansport, Walvis Court, is an informal field used for informal soccer. It is allocated for housing but currently, it is an open space and not a sport field. The Department also does not have plans to develop this land into a formal sports field.
General maintenance such as mowing takes place along with the rest of Hanover Park, in seven cuts per year,” she says.
Ward councillor for the area Antonio van der Rheede says he has met with the organisers of the league.
“This is an informal sports field which was indicated to the Sunday league when they started using the field. The users approached me and it was indicated to them to please use the field only on Sundays and this was agreed to,” he says.
“The group then deviated from the agreement and started using it the whole weekend and using the field for practise during the week. It was spelt out to them that the grass that was left after the drought would not last if they continued to just play and not let the field rest. There is now no grass left and its now a sand pit.”
The current conditions include patchy grass, sand hills, holes and thorns, making it dangerous for play, say the Grants.
Fencing initially erected around the field has also been vandalised.“Clear view fencing was erected approximately eight years ago, and was vandalised which resulted in the removal of the entire fence. Fencing will be replaced as and when budget becomes available,” says Van der Ross.
The community further believed the plot was initially zoned for housing.
Mayco member for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi says this is no longer the case.
“No housing will be developed on this site. The ward councillor indicated that this site was used as a sports field. It was subsequently removed as a possible site for the City’s Hanover Park housing project which is currently in the planning phase,” he says.
The Grants say they have no where else to play, as they charge a minimal match joining fee due to financial burdens on the locals.
Christopher says most of the teams are underprivileged and don’t have any gear. Managers have since gone out of their way to find sponsors for kit and other items.
“We would like to see a turf field being installed. We have even come up with a solution of youths being security there, because that is the main concern, that the stuff will go missing. The community is willing to come together,” Charlene says.
Van der Ross says this is not possible.
“There are currently no additional sporting facilities earmarked for Hanover Park. The department and City has a facility development plan based on the needs of the greater metropolitan area and funding is allocated accordingly,” she says.
“Residents are encouraged to use of the designated formal sporting facility, the Downberg Sportsfield for sporting codes such as soccer and cricket.”
But the Grants say this is their only option.
The community at large are also willing to assist in the maintenance, such as watering of the field, given permission.
Van der Ross discourages locals taking the development into their own hands.
