Safa Cape Town president Bennett Bailey had nothing but praise for Golden United Football Club members and players at a gathering in Rocklands, at the weekend.
Speaking at the club’s official kit launch, held at the Weltevreden Recreation Centre, Bailey applauded the fact that the club was able to secure much-needed funding from the National Lotteries Board despite the impact Covid-19 and the lockdown has had on people’s lives and sporting activities in general.
For Golden United, as was the case with many others, it meant calling off their annual youth tournament.
However, the mood in the small hall was positive, with all Covid -19 protocols observed upon entering and during the proceedings.
“There should be a new agenda for sport and sport should be driven by people like yourselves,” he told the audience.
“It should not be driven by people who belong to a political party, people who are deployed by business or those who have no interest in that sport,” he said.
“It should be driven by stakeholders, such as yourselves.”
Although a joyous occasion, considering that there’s not been much to celebrate, Bailey was quick to point out that we’re not in the clear as far as the pandemic is concerned.
“Covid is different, Covid disrupted our lives but it also exposed people who did not work before.
But because you worked before, you were strong before so when Covid came, you didn’t stop, you could still mobilise and that’s why today you can have a kit handover,” he said.
With the Covid cloud still hanging over our heads, Bailey closed his speech with a gentle but firm reminder to “Mask up, wash your hands and practise social distancing.”
