NFD-bound Mthatha Bucks has no affiliation with the 'old' Bush Bucks

29 July 2015 - 13:18 By Sbu Mjikeliso

Mthatha Bucks owner Simthembile Ntlantsana‚ whose side has won promotion to the National First Division (NFD)‚ has clarified that his team has no affiliation with the “old” Bush Bucks. Fans were celebrating the “return” of Bush Bucks last week after they won promotion to the country’s second tier through the ABC Motsepe League national play-offs but it was unclear what association Mthatha Bucks had with the old Bush Bucks. The answer is none.Mthatha-based attorney Ntlantsana bought the club from Philisa Mnqandi‚ which was previous known as Happy Brothers FC‚ and took over a full controlling stake in it before the start of the just ended season last year.Mnqandi was one of the four Bush Bucks directors‚ along with Sturu Pasiya‚ Phumelele Balfour and Bongile Nkola before an acrimonious split in 2006.“I was a co-owner at OR Tambo Cosmos before we ran into some problems and I left the club‚” Ntlantsana said.“Last season I was interested in returning to football‚ so I got in touch with Philisa Mnqandi‚ who owned Mthatha Bucks.“Mthatha Bucks used to be Happy Brothers but was renamed by Mnqandi‚ who was one of the directors of Bush Bucks. After a few seasons in the old Vodacom League‚ he said he was putting it up for sale and that’s when I came in.“I acquired a full‚ 100-percent stake of that club but I cannot disclose for what fee.”Mthatha Bucks last week lost 2-1 to Mpumalanga outfit Mbombela United in Kimberley in the ABC Motsepe League play-off finals but promotion to the NFD had already been secured.On top of having a similar name to the old entity‚ their logo bears resemblance to Bush Bucks and they employ similar colours — the famous gold and black.“The old Bush Bucks relocated to East London and was liquidated; it is not the same club as Mthatha Bucks. They just have similar names‚” said Ntlantsana.“This Mthatha Bucks had been competing in the Vodacom League for four to five seasons with this name‚ before I got in.“We tried to redesign the logo and everything because the previous owner (Mnqandi) might not have changed it completely. I wanted it to be changed at the beginning of the season but the fixtures were already published with the name.“The bottom line is that people may want to associate it with the old Bush Bucks but this is a completely new team‚ even though its previous owner had an association with the old Bush Bucks.”Bush Bucks last played in the Premier Soccer League during the 2005-06 season but slipped into oblivion following relegation that year. Current owner Pasiya has stuck with the team through all the legal wrangling and liquidation along the way.He said they were still working hard at reviving the old iconic club.“Bush Bucks still exists at Safa regional level and I’m still the owner‚” he said.“We are not affiliated with the new Mthatha Bucks. The logos aren’t identical‚ even though they’ve used our colours.“We just wish to congratulate them on their promotion‚ for the meantime‚ and we don’t have a problem with the use of a similar name.“Things are going quite well regarding the revival of Bush Bucks. We’ve got a huge academy structure going on in East London that is being run by one of our former coaches Nigel Dixon. It is progressing well.”..

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