Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Rulani Mokwena says the club invested to repair Lucas Moripe Stadium and they offered to play Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium.
Sundowns host Chiefs in Tshwane tomorrow at the arena deemed unfit to host games for SuperSport United due to Loftus Verfeld being unavailable for the next few weeks.
But Mokwena revealed the club funded the repairs of the stadium in Attregiville which has been sold out for the highly-anticipated encounter on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s an unfortunate situation but it’s not a situation we will have to face for the entire season,” Mokwena said about Loftus Versfeld not being ready to host games.
“So we have the first two months to undergo this voyeur sort of approach where we move but the reality is, we’re happy that we can use Lucas [Moripe Stadium], and I have to compliment the club because they have gone out of its way to upgrade the facilities.
“From not just the grass but the turnstiles, improved the lights and that has come at a cost to the club, but that investment is worth it because that allows our games to be played closer to our supporters, and that’s important to us.
“Our supporters are important to us, they are the heartbeat of this club, they give energy and when they play the drum it galvanises the team. It’s important to get access to a stadium where our supporters can attend the games.”
Mokwena went on to state that Masandawana even tried to offer to play the game at Soccer City as they mulled over their options in an attempt to keep the game in Gauteng.
“And yes we’ve tried [other options]… we tried to even change fixtures, we tried to even say to Chiefs, the first round must be their home game and then we’ll host in the second round but it couldn’t happen,” Mokwena said.
“We also tried to use FNB… that couldn’t happen. So we went to that space where we settled for Lucas and I think for the interim that was the best decision.”
