Alex’s wandering wanderer to finally return home from exile
ALEXANDRA - After more than a year of wandering in the wilderness due to forced exile, Alex United Football Club will finally return home.
After more than a year of wandering in the wilderness due to forced exile, Alex United Football Club will finally return home.
The prodigal son of Alex football was cast away in March last year when its home ground, Alexandra Stadium, was closed by the City of Johannesburg for what it termed to be major renovations, but it just turned out to be the refurbishment of the offices and the players’ restrooms.
The pitch surface, which was supposed to be relaid, was been touched by City of Johannesburg. However, United and the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association clubbed together more than R30 000 to fix the stadium surface and plant grass seed so they can resume playing their games there.
When it was closed last year, the City of Johannesburg, which was cagey on the time frames for the renovations, the amount to be spent and the specs that will be accommodated in the renovations, said they would re-open the stadium seven months later, which was September.
That date came and went and not even a mere act of refurbishment had been done and equipment and supplies were still lying idle in the stadium grounds, which then led to some people helping themselves to whatever they could lay their hands on.
When the City finally realised they were going to hold football to ransom and would never ever be able to effect the desired renovations, they changed their tune and said they would then refurbish the stadium in piecemeal fashion while pitch activity was going on.
This, though, is still to be seen as none of it has been implemented and the stalled renovations are now running into their second year. But the good new is the prodigal son, United, has finally decided enough is enough of wandering in the wilderness and they will now nevertheless come back home for its warmth before winter sets in.
United’s home-coming match will be played at the Alexandra Stadium on 1 May against cross-suburban rivals, Highlands Park, which has found a home in Modderfontein. The kick-off for this match is scheduled for 7pm.
One of Hope City Giants directors, Nick Nicolaou, has appealed to club’s loyal fans and the community at large to come to the stadium in their numbers to welcome the team back home from its forced exile.
