WeeklySA_AdminHERITAGE: LUMINARIES JAMES “SOFASONKE” MPANZA AND ERIC “SCARA” SONO AMONG THE NAMES MOOTED FOR the FOOTBALL MECCA
By Ali Mphaki
Once there was Atteridgeville stadium in Pretoria. It was renamed Lucas Moripe. Claremont stadium in Durban got named into Sugar Ray Xulu stadium.
Both Moripe and Xulu were outstanding football players in their times in the late 60s and 70s. Bow-legged Moripe played for the erstwhile giant-killers Bantu Callies, SA Black X1 and also went on to ply his trade in Hong Kong.
He was known as “Masterpieces” and widely revered as a “god of football”. The Lucas Moripe stadium named after him is home to champions Mamelodi Sundowns, Supersport United and other outfits based in Pretoria.
Xulu, 81, (13 December 1939 – 4 May 2020), was considered as one of the most elegant left-footed players and a “gentleman” of the game. He plied his trade with Zulu Royals (now AmaZulu), who won the NPSL in 1972, including captaining the SA Black XI in the 1970s. Five decades after he hung up his boots, there are very few players that have emerged on the local scene to match Xulu’s skills and attitude.
The Province of KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini Metro honoured the legend by naming the football facility in the township where he grew up, after him. The stadium is currently the home ground for PSL outfit Lamontville Golden Arrows and GladAfrica Championship side Uthongathi FC. Then there is Orlando stadium in Soweto, once regarded as the mecca of South African football until the advent of mega venues like FNB, Moses Mabhida et al.
The stadium was originally built for the Johannesburg Bantu Football Association and it had a seating capacity of 24,000 and cost £37,500 to construct. It was opened by the Minister for Bantu development, MC de Wet Nel, and Ian Maltz who was then Mayor of Johannesburg on May 2, 1959.
It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates, and owned by the City of Johannesburg. In addition to the stadium capacity of 36,761 people, there is an auditorium for 200 people, 120 hospitality suites, a gymnasium and a conference centre.
Now civic society and soccer followers are egging authorities to have the iconic venue to also be renamed, triggering an avalanche of suggested names for the popular venue, which also happens to be colloquially known as Es’godini.
Top of the suggested names in social media is that of James “Sofasonke” Mpanza, a politician widely considered to be the father of Soweto.
Orlando Pirates have also dedicated the 2024/25 season to Mpanza, but there is also a groundswell of opinion that the venue should also take on a name of a soccer great, living or dead.
Other hot candidates include the legendary Eric “Scara” Sono, his son Jomo Sono, Kalamazoo Mokone, football administrator Bethuel Mokgosinyane, Andries “Pele Pele” Mkhwanazi etc,.Others have suggested the name Maghebula.
Erected on what was previously a dumping site which was later levelled up to an open field, this is where then Orlando Pirates star player, the late “Scara” Sono, could be seen on a daily basis training and honing his skills. “Scara” would go on to beguile both fans and the opposition when the stadium finally opened to the public. He died seven years later in a car accident in 1966.
Originally a multi-purpose stadium, it is currently largely being used for football at the expense of other sports like athletics and cycling. It was also one of the venues used as a training facility during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Soweto schools used to hold their athletic meetings at the venue but no more since there is no longer a racing track. The PSL could not comment on the matter of the name change as it did not fall under their jurisdiction.
City of Joburg are still to receive the “proposed” application. To apply for a name change, a petition with over…signatures is required in terms of the Heritage Act.
Yet, there are others who feel its better to leave the name of the stadium as is, seeing there are two other stadiums in Soweto – Jabavu and Meadowlands – who still retain their original names.
