11 Jul 2017

The Sankoyo community is planning a meeting to decide whether  Sankoyo Tshwaragano Development Trust should continue supporting Sankoyo Bush Bucks Club or not.

The trust has been the backbone of the club in terms of finances since its birth until it was promoted to the premier league in 2014.

The team has been struggling to meet its financial obligations despite being in a tourism area, as the industry has not been coming forth to support it as would be expected.

The Ngurungu boys, as affectionately known in sport circles, have been relying on financial assistance from the village trust, the executive committee, grants from the premier league and some micro funders.

Due to financial constraints, the team struggled to pay players their monthly wages and it led to players missing some training sessions.

The village leader, Kgosi Gokgathang Moalosi revealed that they were planning to organise a press conference to share the stand of the trust as far as financial support for the team was concerned.

Although he could not mention the date of the meeting, he indicated that it would be held soon.

He said the community was worried about negative reports that questioned the ownership of the club through social media and some media houses, adding that they wanted a meeting to explain their stand on the team’s future.

 He said they had been accused of owning the team and interfering in the club’s management and operations, and that the meeting would give them an opportunity to respond to the reports.

He said the trust supported the club whole-heartedly, noting that every season they injected close to P200 000 to sustain the team.

Kgosi Moalosi said the trust was not sponsoring the team, but was just assisting because it appreciated the struggles of the club.

 “We wish people could appreciate efforts made by the trust and stop spreading messages that mislead others and tarnish the good name of Sankoyo and the club itself,” he added.

Furthermore, the village leader noted that they rescued the club several times during difficult times, adding that if it was not for the trust, the team could have been relegated.

Sankoyo Bush Bucks was established in the dusty village of Sankoyo in 1996. It is the first and only team in Nhabe region to gain promotion to the elite league. Since promotion, Ngurungu has proved to be one of the fastest growing clubs in the country.

Kgosi Moalosi pointed out that they have also invited the chief executive officer of Wilderness Safari to come and clarify the issue of sponsorship. Of recent, there were reports that Ngurungu has refused sponsorship from the company. ENDS