Roy Moodley Pledges R1 Million In His Legacy Cup Tourney
Durban businessman Roy Moodley is set to launch his highly anticipated Roy Moodley Legacy Cup this coming weekend, a tournament aimed at giving back to the Durban community.
In conjunction with SAFA Ethekwini and AMC Roy Moodley Foundation, which is chaired by CEO Maritza R. Benson, the tournament will commence at HoyPark in Durban North.
Moodley has committed R1 million through his foundation to ensure the success of the event, emphasizing his dedication to youth empowerment. The winning team will take home R30,000, with the losing finalist receiving R15,000. The two semi-finalists will each be awarded R5,000, and each Local Football Association (LFA) will receive R1,200 per day for transport.
Moodley, who previously expressed interest in acquiring Premier Division statuses for Royal AM and SuperSport United, highlighted the critical need for community-led initiatives to support young people.
“If we don’t take the initiative and sit back, saying ‘No, the government is doing wrong?’, we need to take action,” Moodley told Sportswire.
“How do we take action? We need grounds back because if the grounds are taken now (by Nyaope users), we are creating the youth to become criminals.”
He further stressed the outdated state of current sporting facilities. “We need more sporting facilities, not what we have now. The facilities we have now were built 20 or 30 years ago. So, in 30 years, the population has actually doubled or even tripled. We need to have more facilities. We can’t take away what is there at the moment. We need to increase the facilities, and that is why we are pushing for that, and I’m sure we are going to achieve it.”
Moodley also touched on the role of youth in politics, stating, “Everything is politics. That’s why we want the youth to get into politics and be creative because, at the end of the day, if they don’t do it, then the country will go to the ground. Therefore, my duty here is to empower the youth to become whatever they want.”
The tournament’s group stages will begin on Saturday, 26 July. The quarter-finals are scheduled for 2 August, with the semi-finals and finals taking place the following day.
All knockout stage matches will be played at Christianenburg.
Moodley expressed his hope that the tournament will serve as a stepping stone for local talent. “This region, we don’t have people who can go to higher levels of sports. If we don’t create this initiative, then we can’t get people to go to higher levels.
“So, I’m here to make sure that we select, in the next two or three years, one or two players to go to the Premier League. I’m sure, with the assistance of the president of SAFA Ethekwini (Mazwi Mkhize), we can make things happen for the youth.”
