Fed up TTM ditch Thohoyandou, relocate to Musina

Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) are set to move their home matches from the Thohoyandou Stadium to the Lesley Manyathela Stadium in Musina.

The club is fed up with the exorbitant fees charged by the Thulamela Municipality to host matches at the run-down facility.

They follow in the footsteps of Black Leopards, who have moved to the Malamulele Stadium due to the same reason. Motsepe Foundation clubs currently pay R 43 000 to host their home matches in Thohoyandou.

TTM have now decided to move their home base to Musina, where the Manyathela Stadium is being refurbished. The facility is expected to be completed before the end of this year. The club has also been approached by the Mangaung Municipality to relocate the club to the Free State.

WHY TTM ARE FED UP

Club president Masala Mulaudzi confirmed to FARPost the latest developments and why they reached such a decision.

“Teams from our region have been crying foul for the past eight years, if not more. We have been pleading with the Municipality to consider cutting costs,” he said.

“When we started playing at Thohoyandou, we used to pay around R 15 000. But the price has risen by over 200%, and that obviously impacts the financial implications of running a club.

“When you play at Thohoyandou Stadium, you are expected to pay an arm and a leg and remember, as Motsepe Foundation teams, our grant is not much. We also have around 28 players that need to be paid, including travelling and accommodation costs in a month. Medical and emergency services that we also need to render, which the municipality doesn’t even assist with, unlike other municipalities. So, our home games end up costing more than our away games.”

“If you look at our pitch at Thohoyandou Stadium when you talk about maintenance, what maintenance are you referring to there? Because it is only cutting the grass and cutting the grass is only R200 petrol. So, there is nothing special about it. You go to the stadium, and you find out the stadium is so dirty, so there is no service that you are getting there.”

THIDIELA HAD A POINT

“So, I think personally I have reached a point where I am sick and tired of this municipality to a point that I started realising that the old man (Leopards owner, David Thidiela) was not just crying foul. He had a point, to a point that he had to relocate to Malamulele of which he is not paying a cent.”

RELOCATING TO BLOEM?

“If the Musina stadium is not ready at that time. I think it will also be ideal for us to relocate to Bloemfontein. Because the Mangaung Municipality has approached to come and make use of the facility because they need a professional team there. So, we are considering going to Musina as a first preference or alternatively Bloemfontein.”

Venda Football Club will be the only club remaining at the Thohoyandou Stadium once the TTM move is complete. Efforts to reach the Thulamela Municipality were fruitless.