BLOEMFONTEIN – The Marumo Gallants have a fully-fledged facility for administration, training and development – thanks to a partnership with the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM). The facility in Noordhoek was officially handed over the club on Saturday, 7 March – much to the delight of the club’s management.
The facility was previously used by defunct Bloemfontein Celtic. In terms of the agreement, the premiership side Gallants become the custodian, and with it accepting full responsibility for the maintenance of the facility for the duration of its stay. The facility is also the headquarters of the club. The club temporarily used different venues since relocating to Bloemfontein. The municipality is the rightful owner of the facility.
Delighted owner Dr Abram Sello, chairperson, maintains a permanent facility would stabilise the club.
“This will go a long way in stabilising the club overall, having a dedicated facility for training at given times. We struggled to find a suitable facility since our relocation to Bloemfontein.
“Change of training venues impacted the club’s preparation for league and competition matches. We had to realign with the arrangements of the rightful custodian of facilities we had been renting temporarily,” said Sello.
The team temporarily used different facilities, including that of the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State; the University of the Free State (UFS); and the St Andrew’s School.
Sello said the community and community development clubs stand to benefit from using the facility for the development of football, noting the importance of strengthening relationships.
“This is our proudest moment, having a facility, and we are grateful for support from the municipality,” said Sello.
After acts of vandalism, the facility has been significantly revamped and rebranded to bear the new name of Gallant Zone, replacing what was previously Siwelele Park.
