Alex United not ‘a Greek team’

The chairman of Alex United Football Club Nkani Dube has dismissed a notion that is doing the rounds in Alexandra that the club was now ‘a Greek team’.

He was speaking in an exclusive interview with Alex News on their preparations for the coming season of the ABC Motsepe League, previously known as the Safa Second Division league. This league is a promotional league to the National First Division league, which is itself a precursor to the prestigious Premier Soccer League.

The interview came in the wake of their failure to qualify for promotional play-offs for the National First Division. Their rivals, Highlands Park pipped them to the plays-offs.

United, who had led the pack for the entire season, missed promotion by a whisker after losing the two last games, one of them to Highlands Park in which they lost 2-0 at home. In the last game, United just needed a draw and a prayer that Highlands Park would lose their final game for them to clinch the top spot and move on to the play-offs. Although they won their final game 1-0 away to LMP Stars, that was not enough to secure them a top spot as Highlands Park won their final game 2-0 against African All Stars to top the league.

“I would like to dispel the notion currently doing rounds in Alexandra and its media, which claims that Alex United has been taken over by the Greeks,” he said.

“That’s not true. Alex United is not a Greek club and is and will remain a club for the community of Alexandra. Having a Greek shareholder in the club does not automatically translate to the club being now a Greek team.

“Myself, Thabo Maphalla and former club coach John Shoes Moshoeu are the majority shareholders. It’s still our team and a team of the community of Alexandra. Nick Nicolaou has also injected much-needed financial muscle to the club for which we’re highly grateful for as it keeps the club going.”