Help soccer school keep up its good work

Video

MOSSEL BAY SOCCER NEWS AND VIDEO - Despite sporting codes getting back into the groove, a local soccer school is still left in the lurch.

According to Yohann Beurel of the Yule Football School (YFS), the most pressing matter is access to local sports facilities.

YFS started operating in 2017 as a racially and gender inclusive organisation. Approximately 150 children, aged four to 16, benefit from their coaching. YFS also brought aid from organisations in France to local schools and football clubs in the form of kit.

Although YFS has previously done training at school premises, such as Curro Mossel Bay, Covid-19 regulations have prohibited it from doing so for more than six months now.

Moreover, says Beurel, not having a contract to use the public sports facilities of its choice, hampers the school's growth and inclusivity.

"We have made numerous attempts to give training long term at Van Riebeeck Stadium, without success," says Beurel. "The stadium has eight fields and should therefore be allocated to all different sport types without prejudice. They are, after all, maintained and paid for with the money from taxpayers."

Beurel bemoans the fact that the grounds are only contracted to cricket, athletics, hockey and rugby.

"There is no field allocated to football despite the fact that the C field is already equipped with football (multipurpose) goalposts.

"YFS is a small, local business, paying tax to the government with tax-paying parents, living in and around Mossel Bay. We also employ eight coaches, all youths who invests their time to coach and mentor local young boys and girls.

"Football allows anybody to play. It accommodates all types of people."

Watch a video below:

Petition
Beurel has made a plea to parents and residents to sign an online petition "to prove the unfairness of allowing certain sports on certain fields and others not".

The petition can be signed here.

According to the Mossel Bay Municipality, a contract was drawn up with Point High School to use the Van Riebeeck Stadium in the 1970s.

"This stipulates the stadium can be used for sports practice, but that match engagements must be booked in advance. In terms of this existing contract, the municipality cannot rent the facilities to other users to train or play matches, without consulting the school first," says municipal spokesperson, Nickey le Roux. The contract with Point has since been amended to accommodate other organisations.

The municipality confirmed the existing contracts with other sports organisations wherein practice times and more are duly stipulated.

"Again, we cannot offer the facilities to other users within these contractually agreed upon times. We also cannot be held accountable should an organisation not make full use of the facilities during the agreed times.

"We aim to be as fair as possible, but given the existing contracts, there are challenges in terms of granting new leases. The municipality however urges schools and sports organisations to make an official application," Le Roux concludes.

The municipality manages 11 sport complexes.

Football can be enjoyed, no matter the gender, age, race, background, social status, physical abilities or mental capabilities of people.