Maritzburg to decide on relocation
Maritzburg United are likely to make a decision this week on whether they will relocate the club to Port Elizabeth on a permanent basis.
The Team of Choice played three of their home games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in the 2011/12 season, having been lured their by the local municipality.
Now there is a proposal on the table for the team to play all their home games at the 2010 Fifa World Cup venue in 2012/13, and move the entire club to the city.
Port Elizabeth has not had a top-flight side since Bay United campaigned in the top division in the 2008/09 season, and the last before that was Bush Bucks, who were relegated in 2005/06.
But club management are hesitant to take up the offer, hoping instead to remain in KwaZulu-Natal and follow the format of the last season, taking selected matches to the city.
“All possible avenues are still open to us,” says the club’s commercial manager Younus Kadodia. “I think we would like to keep playing professional football in KwaZulu-Natal, but then we also have this wonderful opportunity that has been presented to us to relocate the franchise.
“We will have a board meeting, most likely sometime this week, where we will discuss the proposed relocation and decide which route we want to go.
“We might just look at what we did last season, taking some matches to Port Elizabeth and keeping our base here in KwaZulu-Natal. We will do what is right for the club and the players.”
