Tafelsig footballers face hazardous conditions amid sewage problems
The future of sport in Tafelsig has again come under the spotlight as concerns grow over the conditions at the former Swartklip Indoor Sports Centre site, where young footballers continue to train despite ongoing sewage problems and uncertainty over the future use of the land.
Image: Supplied
The future of sport in Tafelsig has again come under the spotlight as concerns grow over the conditions at the former Swartklip Indoor Sports Centre site, where young footballers continue to train despite ongoing sewage problems and uncertainty over the future use of the land.
While the City’s Recreation and Parks Department plans to use a portion of the land for cemetery purposes, the remainder has still been earmarked for sporting activities.
A public participation process has already been conducted and a report containing public comments was submitted to sub-council 12 before being referred to the department.
For many residents, the issue highlights the shortage of safe recreational spaces for children in Tafelsig.
While the City’s Recreation and Parks Department plans to use a portion of the land for cemetery purposes, the remainder has still been earmarked for sporting activities. Pictured are Riverton FC soccer players at the Swartklip field.
Image: Supplied
Coach Junaid Abrahams, head of development at Riverton Football Club, said losing the field would have serious consequences for young people in the area.
“Making a cemetery on this land is going to put children out and we will lose the children to gangsterism,” he said.
The club, which plays under the Mitchells Plain Local Football Association (LFA), has been active for six years and caters for players from under-six level to over-40 divisions. Several other clubs also make use of the field.
Abrahams said sewage overflowing onto the grounds remains a major concern for players. “The pipe in the road was fixed, but the pipe on the field is still a problem and boiling."
Pictured, sewage remains a concern at the former Swartklip Indoor Sports Centre grounds in Tafelsig, where local football clubs say children still train despite the hazardous conditions.
Image: Supplied
Despite the hazardous conditions, children continue to train because they have nowhere else to go. “We play with the balls and sometimes it goes into the water and they must take it out. We are short on equipment, but use what we have,” he said.
Abrahams said the club is trying to keep children involved in sport and away from crime.
In late April, City workers were seen clearing the sewage blockages.
Image: Supplied
Abrahams said many families struggle to afford registration costs and the club often steps in to help. “We can make a difference in a lot of children’s lives,” he said.
Community activist Juven Rittles of Unchain the Plain said he visited the site in late April and described the smell as overwhelming.
“I watched the boys train while two trucks were cleaning the sewage blockages. Last season they told me this was the situation. Why does it have to amount to this before help comes?”
Rittles said although he understands the field has been condemned, there is still an urgent need for safe sporting spaces in the area.
In an online video released in January, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Francine Higham and ward 92 councillor, Norman Adonis visited the site during the demolition process.
Higham said the facility was built ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and many residents remembered it as a vibrant sporting hub.
The department said public safety could not be compromised and noted that facilities such as the Olifantshoek Community Centre and Nelson Mandela Multipurpose Centre remain available nearby while further recreational opportunities continue to be explored in Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.
For more information you can contact president of Riveron FC, Ignatius Bussack on 083 885 7142 of Coach Abrahams on 081 700 9454.