Fight erupts over use of Chiefs' name
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Friday September 25, 2020 15:25
According to information gathered from the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) website, the company is under the directorship of Ramocha Tsieng and Molefi Sexton Kowa.
The two directors own 50% each in the company, which was incorporated on February 21, 2020. While Tsieng declined to comment on the matter at present time, Tsheole said their next step, as a club would be to take action over the use of the name.
“For now I cannot comment on anything related to that issue until the appropriate time,” Tsieng told Mmegi Sport on Wednesday.
However, Tsheole said as a club they tried to engage the directors of the company on the matter four months ago, but have not made any significant progress.
“I personally met Ramocha and Kowa about the name (Mochudi Centre Chiefs (Pty) Ltd). That was in May. They said they would come back to us on the issue and they never did. We are now left with taking appropriate measures on the matter,” Tsheole said.
Tsheole said the name belongs to the club and cannot be used by any other individual or company except the club. He said as a club, they have tried to engage the two directors first before they could seek other measures, but added that it has not yielded results at the moment.
As one of the most successful football sides in the country, Chiefs status as a giant declined, which saw their relegation to the lower division.
Their fall has largely been attributed to the internal bickering that has rocked the club for years. Following their relegation, the two warring factions finally reached common ground and decided to hand the club to new management led by Tsheole. However, the latest development concerning the name of the new company has sent some supporters into panic mode.
They have witnessed a long and tiring standoff between two factions resulting in the sinking of their favourite club in the past.
Tsheole, however, said the club would return to its glory days as soon as the resumption of football is imminent. He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affecting football, it has also given them an opportunity to introspect further.
He said they are currently building a strong team that would put smiles on the faces of Magosi faithful again.
Meanwhile, Tsheole said they are waiting for FIFA’s direction on the next step regarding the claims made by two former coaches, Philani Mabhena and Bongani Mafu. The two reported the club to FIFA demanding payment of nearly P600,000.
Mafu served as a head coach between 2016 and 2017 and is demanding outstanding payments of P449,500, while Mabhena wants P121,100. The club was initially given until August 5 to respond to the claims, but asked FIFA for more time to deliberate on the matter. Tsheole said they managed to respond to the two coaches’ claims and now await FIFA’s direction on the next step.
He said owing to the confidentiality of the matter as advised by the world’s football governing body, he cannot discuss the contents of their response to the claims.