Midlands Wanderers FC to play home games in Durban, Msunduzi Municipality disputes reasons behind move

The Msunduzi Municipality has challenged the reason for the “departure” of the Midlands Wanderers Football Club from the city. It claimed that some of the reasons advanced were not legitimate.

The club, which plays in the National First Division, announced this week that it would be playing all its second-round home games in Durban amid a dispute over the use of the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg.

Among its complaints are excessive stadium fees, inadequate stadium management, poor maintenance of the playing surface, including insufficient grass cutting, and general upkeep.

The club stated that it had sought financial assistance from the municipality and had only requested the use of the stadium as a form of local support, which was declined. They were informed that the stadium hire fee was R38,070.00 per match.

The club expressed concern about the rejection, pointing out that the municipality has supported other clubs to the tune of millions of rand including most recently, Royal AM FC.

The Msunduzi Municipality, however, pushed back. It said that the municipality manages public facilities in line with applicable legislation, council-approved policies, and tariff structures. As a general principle, municipal facilities are hired in accordance with approved tariffs unless a specific council resolution permits otherwise.

The municipality noted, “In recent seasons, Harry Gwala Stadium has been utilised by several football clubs, including Midlands Wanderers FC, Mkhambathini FC, and the Royal AM Ladies Team. Requests were received for the use of the facility at no cost. The municipality has approved policies that govern the waiver or sponsorship of facility usage, which are applied strictly within the framework of council decisions.”

It added, “Previous arrangements that enabled Maritzburg United (now Durban City) and Royal AM to utilise municipal facilities without charge were based on a specific council resolution to sponsor clubs competing at Premier Soccer League level. That decision is currently the subject of legal proceedings, and at present, no council resolution exists that permits the sponsorship of football clubs or the blanket waiver of stadium hire fees.”

The municipality stated that formal correspondence outlining applicable tariffs was therefore issued to all affected clubs. These communications were not directed at any single club; they were intended to ensure consistency and transparency in the application of municipal policy.

The municipality also mentioned that engagement has taken place with the Midlands Wanderers FC, during which various operational matters were discussed. “It should be noted that correspondence regarding tariffs was issued only recently, while the club had already played some fixtures at alternative venues.”

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