EPRU president George Malgas says the original U16 Grant Khomo Week squad selection was not representative of Eastern Province’s demographics.
Malgas was responding to criticism from EP’s Grant Khomo management team, who threatened to resign after changes were made to the squad following the completion of the selection process. The coaches have since agreed to remain in their positions ahead of the tournament.
Speaking to Nova News, Malgas defended the union’s involvement and said concerns were raised when the proposed squad was presented to them.
“We received a list of the proposed players from the selectors last Thursday, and we scrutinised the list, and we discovered the list was not representative of EP’s demographics,” he said.
“The team was largely made up of players from the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro, comprising three or four schools, and two schools from the Makhanda area. We were not happy to accept this list. It had not made any provision for players from the previously disadvantaged areas.”
Malgas said the union asked selectors to revisit the squad and consider players who had participated in the trial process or the Mali tournament, and that the final squad resulted from consultation rather than unilateral union diktat.
“I want to reiterate that those names were given to us and not thumb-sucked by us,” he said. “I stand by what we did and how we came to it.”
EPRU general manager Mzi Mpofu also backed the decision.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that youth representative teams are a reflection of the whole community that falls under the auspices of EPRU,” Mpofu told Nova News.
“We cannot watch silently as children from disadvantaged and rural communities are systematically deprived of opportunities.”
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
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EPRU president George Malgas says the original U16 Grant Khomo Week squad selection was not representative of Eastern Province’s demographics.
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