By Velile Mnyandu
The return of sports fans to the stadiums in large numbers is imminent in South Africa, this was the assurance coming from the Ministry of Sport yesterday.
With the National Football Supporters Association, marching to the Soweto Derby at the Orlando stadium today, a game that pits archrivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs as they try to continue pushing the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to #VulaAmasango .
Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu revealed to iDiski Times yesterday that very soon sports fans will be attending games in stadia in large numbers. She was speaking on the sidelines of the MinMEC meeting at the Sun City in North West, which was also attended by the Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa and all the nine MEC’s from around the country.
Currently, the government as part of its efforts to continue to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic limits the crowds to the stadium to only 2000 and 1000 for indoor events like boxing. Whilst sporting codes like cricket, rugby, boxing and other codes have taken advantage of this and welcomed fans back to the stadium since these new rules kicked in last year, in football, there hasn’t been consistent with the PSL still yet to implement it in its matches.
This has led to an outcry in the country where the game of billions is the number one sporting code and the multitudes of football fans, already exposed to large crowds in other footballing games globally have been left frustrated, to say the least about the local resistance of the football leadership to welcome them back at the stadiums.
During this period, only SAFA through some Bafana Bafana matches during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers last month, Mamelodi Sundowns in their selected CAF Champions League games have allowed fans to the stadium under the 2000 crowd limit rule. The PSL ran a pilot project with the MTN8 final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City in Durban last year, inviting the media and the fans for the first time to their games during the media, and there was no follow up on that.
The ruling party has not covered itself in glory as they were one of the political parties that gathered large crowds in its political rallies leading to the municipal elections towards the end of 2021. Covid-19 protocols which are being demanded in sporting gatherings, like vaccinated people, compulsory masks and social distancing were never observed in most of these rallies. The Department of Health and Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) have the keys to unlocking the stadiums for the fans.
“I know Veli you’re too scared to ask me, tomorrow is the Derby and there are no fans. Unfortunately, it’s not up to us as the department, it is up to the government in general. But I can tell you, the department is putting pressure on government to make sure that those spectators are really back on the stands, we hope that it will happen very soon.
“But one thing for sure, sport is critical for South Africans. And also, when you talk economic reconstruction, sport is critical. Because those fans going to the stadium, they’re not going there for free. The pay and also the young people that are coming up, you know, the people that are doing small jobs and small businesses, they do a living there, because they sell little things.
“So it’s important. So when we look at the spectators, we must look at them, you know, you know, in a bigger form, not just spectators, but we’re talking about what the sport does for the economy in the country and helps its recovery as well,” said Mafu about the imminent return of fans to the stadium.
Sporting federations, almost all the stakeholders in sport have been suffering due to this continued locking out of fans from the stadiums in South Africa. The current numbers allowed, are also not doing justice to the business of sport because it costs more to organize accommodating 2000 people at the stadium than the revenue that would be made by the rights owners.
Guided by the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events (SASREA) Act of 2010, sports federations and their members in SA are required to follow clear guidelines when hosting spectators at the stadium and the minimum that this can cost them is around R300 000 for a game or event. This includes organizing security and other key requirements to host a game, like stadium ushers, cleaners and more. It is believed that these are the kind of costs that the PSL and its members have been trying to avoid, at a time when the proceeds from the 2000 spectators will not even come close to covering the overheads.
With some sports federations fully dependent on large crowds during international matches, Mafu is aware that the continued black of out of fans at the stadiums in large numbers is close to collapsing the business of the industry and in the long run this is also going to affect the development of the sporting codes due to the limited revenue streams.
“Our people must just hang in there. We had hoped by now that probably we would have had at least 50% spectators on the stadiums. But remember, what has happened is that the National Disaster Act which is governing the COVID-19 controls, the President announced that they’re doing away with it as the government and therefore that has affected the timelines.
“But we really hope that we will be able to come back to those timelines in due course, hang on there, we know, we know, we are with you. We also want to go back by the way to those stadiums. I wanted to go to the derby tomorrow as well (Laughing),” concluded Mafu on this matter.
Story by: @Velile_Mnyandu
