Free State township sports facility stripped bare and vandalised [PICS]

A once-pristine multimillion-rand sporting facility in Matjhabeng local municipality’s Nyakallong township in the Free State has been left in ruins after being stripped of its valuable components and vandalised. Despite the municipality identifying refurbishment as a priority and assigning a R10 million price tag to the project, the facility now stands gutted and neglected.

The once vibrant Nyakallong stadium, built in 2014, had its corrugated iron roof over the block housing the ablution facilities, changing rooms and cafeteria stolen, leaving only decaying wooden rafters. The steel grandstands and goalposts are the only substantial structures still standing, while tennis, basketball and netball courts are now barely recognizable as such.

Young people who used to frequent the facility described it as the pride of the community, now reduced to a darkened patch on the ground. The lush grass has vanished, turning the area into a dusty shortcut used by residents. The municipality had warned about the risks posed by vandalism to sporting infrastructure and even acknowledged it as one of the biggest threats to the sustainability of their sporting facilities.

Despite this, the current state of Nyakallong stadium suggests the risks identified have materialized on a devastating scale. Nyakallong sports ground's doors and windows have been stolen, leaving gaping holes, and the facility's security was withdrawn after the councillor who advocated for its construction left office. The municipality's 2011-12 integrated development plan estimated the broader programme, including the stadium's construction and refurbishment of several existing sporting facilities, to cost over R21.8 million. However, the municipality has not yet responded to a request for comment on the matter.