There was huge anticipation when the Premier Soccer League (PSL) was set to announce the venue for the 2025 MTN8 final between defending champions Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch FC.
Die-hard Bucs supporters, those who swear by the skull and crossbones of Ezimnyama nge Nkani were itching and anxious and they could not wait for the announcement of the
venue. So too were the handful of supporters back in the Cape winelands of Stellenbosch.
When PSL media officer Fhatuwani Mpfuni was opening the envelope, he unleashed some suspense – it almost felt like in 2004 when Sepp Blatter announced “Sous Africa” as the organisers of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The ambiance and the occasion were definitely not of the same levels, but the young lad tried to create some drama, not to bad effort at all.
It was finally announced that the final will be played at the Mbombela Stadium in
Mpumalanga on September 13. Kick-off will be at 6:00pm and Pirates have been drawn as the home team.
The Buccaneers have been dominant in this competition under the departed Jose Riveiro, who scored a hat-trick with three trophies in as many seasons. New coach Abdeslam Ouaddou will be looking to continue where Riveiro left off. A trophy will endear him to the hard-to-please fans, who were already baying for his blood after the first two league matches.
Football-mad supporters were already enquiring as early as Sunday about the venue for the final. It did not matter whether the match was going to be played on Mars or even on the moon, they just wanted to prepare themselves for the venue.
They must have been titillated when Blatter lite, aka Mpfuni, revealed Mbombela as the host venue.
The stadium also hosted the Nedbank Cup final in June last year between Pirates and
Mamelodi Sundowns. It was the game where Relebohile Mofokeng announced his
arrival when he gifted Bongani Zungu a free shibobo and then rolled the ball into the net to give the Buccaneers a famous victory over the Brazilians.
The goal electrified the entire stadium and sent the whole of Mbombela into a state of frenzy.
Besides the scrumptious football and the sublime, sun-kissed Mpumalanga weather, and of course the rolling hills of the lowveld, there was just too much chaos and unbearable pandemonium outside the venue. So much so that kick-off for the match had to be postponed and many fans only made it to the venue in the second half.
The park-and-ride arrangement was a mess. Spectators travelling in cars were stuck for hours in traffic. Traffic officers and the police were hapless and had not seen anything as
chaotic as that. Fans were hopping off the buses, vans and kombis to walk to the stadium.
The venue hosts big rugby matches, including the Springboks and there is always order on those occasions.
Rugby people have perfected such logistical issues as the park-and-ride system. Why can’t football people do the same? It worked, and was flawless during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The cup final is all of two weeks away, and there’s simply no time left to get such issues sorted. All the stakeholders, the PSL, stadium management, traffic officers, the police and the park and ride organisers need to come up with a plan as soon as yesterday.
