Premiership side Richards Bay have been handed good news as the municipal mayor Xolani Ngwezi revealed that their return to the Umhlathuze Sports Complex is only three months away.
For two top flight seasons and half of their second division campaign The Natal Rich Boyz have had to play their home matches at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi after the Premier Soccer League (PSL) deemed the complex to be below required standards.
Despite this disadvantage, Richards Bay got promoted to the best league in the country and twice retained their status, albeit doing it via the promotion-relegation play-offs most recently.
The club had made various pleas to the municipality via the media, and expressed how playing their home games away was consistently affecting their ability to perform.
🏆𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼𝘀𝘂𝘁𝗵𝘂 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗖𝘂𝗽
— Richards Bay FC (@RichardsBayFC_) August 28, 2024
Richards Bay vs Royal AM
🏟 Prince Mangosuthu Stadium,uLundi
📆 7 September 2024
🕰 9h00#NatalRichBoyZ pic.twitter.com/nO39HbXRUb
Yesterday, Ngwezi took a group of journalists on a tour of the stadium in Richards Bay before offering an optimistic update for both the club and the community.
He revealed various reasons behind the delays that have amounted to over 12 months, but revealed, along with his team of engineers, that he expected the project to be completed soon.
“The city is still committed to finishing this project … it is long overdue. We are hoping to complete the project in the next two to three months,” he said.
“We want the team to play here, but we also have to consider that there are operational costs. I want the team to approach the city long before the finishing of the stadium so that we can finalise the details of these operational costs.”
There had been concerns about the relationship between the club and the municipality after Richards Bay chairman Jomo Biyela revealed at some point that he wasn’t sure about the status of the project or how long it would take.
🎥 Head Coach Brandon Truter and Defender Lwandile Mabuya represented the club at the media launch for the 2024 Prince Mangosuthu Legacy Cup earlier today.
The pre-season tournament is scheduled for September 7, 2024, at the Prince Mangosuthu Stadium in uLundi. pic.twitter.com/UpngFTaVKc
Sources from the Richards Bay area went as far as suggesting that the two parties’ political affiliations had spilt over into football, but Ngwezi rubbished those claims and explained that it was not an obligation of the municipality to offer updates to the club, but rather for the club to ask if they had any concerns.
“I’ve got a political contractual obligation to have a relationship with every citizen of this city, and I do have that relationship. The stadium belongs to the city, the club should approach the city.
“Our commitment is that we want the stadium to be used by PSL teams, including Richards Bay. We wouldn’t have taken the loan (to renovate the stadium) if we didn’t want them to use it.”
The Natal Rich Boyz will head further north next weekend to participate in the Prince Mangosuthu Legacy Cup, before turning their focus on the commencement of the Betway Premiership.
New coach Brandon Truter will start his second stint at the club with a home test against TS Galaxy on September 15 at the King Zwelithini Stadium.