Lerumo Lions count cost of playing home matches away from North West

Lerumo Lions chairlady Sibongile Marokana says using Dobsonville Stadium as the club’s home venue has become a costly necessity because the Motsepe Foundation Championship side cannot find suitable facilities in North West.

The club are in their second season in the Championship and have staged two home matches at Dobsonville Stadium this campaign. Another fixture, against Real Native FC, was played at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto campus.

Lerumo have been forced to look outside their province after failing to secure a venue that meets their requirements in North West. Marokana said the club were dealing with high costs while trying to maintain a sustainable operation.

“It is a very costly exercise, I want to be very honest about it. Unfortunately, in the North West province, we don’t have the correct facilities. We don’t have facilities that are ready for us to utilise,” she told Soccer Laduma.

“It’s a challenge, and the one that is ready is expensive. It would not be conducive or sustainable for an NFD team to utilise those facilities. That’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium.”

Marokana also said Lerumo did not receive the municipal or government assistance available to some other clubs, which would otherwise help reduce the cost of hosting matches.

“There’s no support in terms of municipalities or government within the North West province. Other teams are being assisted by municipalities with a bit of cash injection to lower the costs. We don’t have that unfortunately,” she said.

“You go where it would be more convenient and where you know you will be able to sustain. So, that’s why most of the games are now at Dobsonville Stadium because the facilities in North West are on a different level. It’s expensive, but at the moment we are managing. We are working on a few things. I don’t want to say too much too soon.”

Despite the logistical difficulties, Lerumo have made a positive start to the season. They won 2-1 away to Highbury FC in Gqeberha on Friday, a result which lifted them to 11 points from their opening seven matches.

The victory leaves Lerumo sixth in the standings.

The club have also been active in identifying emerging players, with Sinothile Maseko, Mpilonhle Mazibuko, Ayakha Sibuta and Nasiphi Bhanayi among those to have made an impression.