Botshabelo-based Mathaithai FC have officially withdrawn from the 2025/26 Free State ABC Motsepe League, ending the club’s participation in the SAFA Second Division mid-season after what the chairman describes as five years of accumulated, unpaid debt that has finally become impossible to absorb.
The decision was confirmed in an official club statement released on social media. SAFA Free State approved the withdrawal request, and the amended fixture list — released on Sunday, 8 March 2026 — no longer includes Mathaithai FC.
A timeline of a slow goodbye
According to the statement, the chronology is short and painful:
– 02 March 2026 — The club wrote to SAFA Free State requesting withdrawal for the remainder of the season.
– 04 March 2026 — SAFA Free State gave the green light.
– 08 March 2026 — The amended fixture list was published without Mathaithai FC.
The club says its initial decision to participate was driven by hope — that sponsors and SAFA Free State “would miraculously pay the club its five (5) years debt totalling a serious amount of money.” That hope did not materialise.
What the club is owed
Mathaithai’s grievance is specific. According to the statement, the club is owed:
– Positional prize monies
– Travelling subsidies
– Referees’ fees
…and these arrears stretch all the way back to the SAB League (two seasons) and continue through six seasons of the current ABC Motsepe League — costs that the club has been carrying alone while running on a single stream of revenue. As the chairman puts it bluntly in the statement, the increasing operational costs simply could no longer be sustained.
Appeals to authority — without result
Before the withdrawal, the chairman privately approached:
– The Municipality
– The Confederation
– The Minister of Sports, Recreation and Arts & Culture, Mr. Gayton McKenzie
…asking for urgent intervention. “Nothing came out of engagements,” the statement reads.
A community club’s painful exit
The tone of the statement leaves little room for ambiguity about how the club views its position:
▎ “This is a very painful determination to arrive at, especially for our Chairman, management, staff, players and genuine
▎ supporters. It is however evident that football development is under a serious attack and we shall continue to lose quality
▎ clubs because of continuing non payments by SAFA.”
▎ “Power and systems are killing the game and we are not yet ready to collectively confront the disguising elephant in the room
▎ as football people but time shall come.”
The chairman wishes participating teams well for the remainder of the season and the eventual playoff champions all the best.
What’s next for the club
Mathaithai FC have been clear on one important point: the club’s status has not been sold. It remains the chairman’s responsibility, and the club has committed to continue engaging SAFA on the debt matter going forward. Updates will follow as developments occur.
For a side that lifted the Free State ABC Motsepe League title in 2021 and was a recognised name in the province’s football pyramid, this is a sobering chapter — and a story that puts an uncomfortable spotlight on how amateur and semi-pro clubs in South Africa survive the gap between the dressing room and the federation’s books.
#MATHAITHAI
