Lesley Manyathela Stadium in Musina remains a white elephant

POLOKWANE – The Lesley Manyathela Stadium in Musina, which used to be the home of many teams playing under Safa Vhembe, has fallen into disrepair after the local municipality apparently failed to maintain the facility for the past four years.

The Musina Municipality set aside more than R1m to renovate the stadium in 2021, but a recent visit showed that it had become dilapidated.

The grass has been left to grow knee-high from the entrance to the grounds.

The stadium was named in honour of the late Lesley Manyathela, a prolific former soccer player for Bafana Bafana and Orlando Pirates, who died in a vehicle collision in 2003.

A local resident, Jeffrey Magwira, said the community is tired of waiting for renovations to be completed.

“This stadium has been here for a long time, and we are tired of seeing it and not being able to use it. It has become a hotspot for criminal activities. We have, on several occasions, been promised during the municipal imbizos that the stadium would be completed, but this has not been done.”

He said the community wants answers as to what happened to the earmarked R1m. “What did they do with the money? We want answers from the municipality.”

The chairperson of the Musina Local Football Association, Derrick Mothibi said most of the clubs are using fields they maintain themselves.

“The stadium is our home, and it pains us to see the stadium in such a shocking state.

“The soccer lovers are here and want to see teams playing here.”

The spokesperson for the Musina Municipality, Wilson Dzebu said the municipality completed phase two by building a wall and a guard room to place a security officer at the stadium since it has been vandalised.

The wall has since collapsed, he said, and the municipality is waiting for funds to finish the project. He could not provide a timeline for this.