The attorneys for 14 Western Cape clubs participating in the Sasol Women’s League have threatened to take the South African Football Association (Safa) to court.
This follows a letter from Lionel Cay Attorneys to Safa’s director of competitions, Klip Moremi, the organisation’s legal officer, advocate Rachel Mkhonto, the Western Cape chairperson of the association, Tankiso Modipa, the provincial executive officer and Safa CEO, Lydia Monyepao.
In the letter we have seen, the attorneys for teams like Cape Town Roses, Portia FC, and Santos FC, among others, claimed that Safa had disregarded the court orders dated March 6 and March 20, in which the teams — applicants in the Cape Town High Court — had criticised Safa for expanding the league’s number of teams while denying them the opportunity to play in the provincial competition.
According to the court’s documents, the teams’ case was considered an urgent application.
“That a Rule Nisi is issued calling upon the respondents [Safa, Safa Western Cape, Modipa, and Konstabel] and all interested parties to show cause, if any, on 8th April 2025 or soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, why the following order should not be made,” read the court documents.
Safa prohibited from increasing number of teams
Safa and company were interdicted and restrained from commencement of playing matches for the Sasol Women’s League in the Western Cape without the duly fixtured involvement and participation of the applicants in part.
The court said: “The respondents are directed to reflect in the records of Sasol League [Western Cape] that applicants are in good standing and have complied with Section 4.1.2 of the Safa Competitions Uniform Rules, in that the R5 000, which is due and payable for the 2025 season’s registration fees, has been paid in terms of the set-off principle arising out of monies owed to the applicants by the first respondent.”
Additionally, according to the order, Safa was prohibited from expanding the number of teams that competed in the Western Cape Sasol League without adhering to the Safa Competition Uniform Rules.
Safa was also ordered to pay all unpaid debts owed to the 14 teams related to their league participation, with the deadline being 14 days after the order was granted.
In the letter addressed to the provincial office and Safa CEO, the teams’ lawyers noted that the association, led by Danny Jordaan, had cocked a snook on the court orders and never complied with them.
