Cape Town City Replaces Chippa In Home of Legends Cup
Cape Town City is set to replace Chippa United in the Home of Legends Cup, a one-day tournament to be hosted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Agency and funded by the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in the coming days.
Chippa United announced on Tuesday that they have withdrawn from the tournament due to a dispute over financial compensation. In a strongly worded statement, the club expressed disappointment with the agency’s CEO, Anele Qaba, claiming that other participating teams had been offered fairer compensation.
Chippa also criticized the allocation of funds for the tournament, suggesting that the money could be better used to improve local football infrastructure, such as Wolfson Stadium.
The letter continued by saying that, Chippa, in an attempt the address the issue, was dismissed, asking how are they going to motivate the players if they are not getting the same compensation to feature.
The club also added the millions that are going to be spent on the tournament should have been used to improve the facility in Nelson Mandela Bay such as Wolfson Stadium which does not meet the PSL standard to host top flight matches and the club play their DStv Diski Challenge matches at Buffalo City Municipality Stadium.
Towards the end of the letter, the club hit back at Qaba by saying: “This approach reflects poorly on Mr. Qaba’s leadership, which seems more focused on personal interests than on the broader needs of our region. It is worth noting that his appointment as CEO is currently under judicial review, which further highlights the concerns surrounding his leadership.”
Chippa concluded by saying they will channel their effort to finish in the top eight come the end of the season.
As Chippa pulls out, Sportswire has been informed that Eric Tinkler’s City will replace them to add to the four-team tournament that includes Golden Arrows, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.
The one-day tournament will take place at the 2010 World Cup venue – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium during the upcoming FIFA international break.
