In dramatic turn of events the Premier Soccer League (PSL) yesterday gave the green light for the contentious league match between Chippa United and Ajax Cape Town to be played at Buffalo City Stadium.
The match is scheduled to be played next Sunday and will end the drought local soccer fans have been experiencing for some years.
Chippa United chairman Siviwe Mpengesi had applied to the league to play some of his club’s home games at Buffalo City Stadium to maximise the fan base.
However, after numerous inspections by the league the stadium was found to be in poor condition to host professional soccer games.
The league gave Buffalo City Metro until midday today to fix the outstanding issues including the pitch, ablution facilities and entrances.
In a meeting at PSL offices yesterday the league approved the stadium after a groundsman was brought from stadium management of Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday.
“The metro agreed to bring a groundsman from Cape Town and he has already started working on the issues we raised,” PSL’s Luxolo September said.
The other areas to be fixed include toilets and entrances which are said to have a potential to be hazardous to the scores of spectators expected to cram into the 16000 seater venue.
The approval of the venue will come as a huge relief to soccer fans in and around East London and other parts of the Eastern Cape.
Yesterday Bruce Meyer, whose Evergreen Lawns company has been doing some work on the stadium pitch, attributed the condition of the pitch to a lack of maintenance.
“It does not cost that much to maintain the pitch, so if only it could kept properly all this disqualification of the stadium would be a thing of the past,” he said.
The approval means the match between Chippa United and Orlando Pirates will also be played at the venue.
The return of top flight football in the region is expected to boost tourism potential starting with next Sunday’s match, as it will be televised live.
Small business enterprises are also set to benefit from scores of people expected to visit the city.
The Buffalo City Metro is expected to call a press briefing to formally announce the match as well as other issues such as the exact capacity of the stadium as well as ticket outlets.
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The match is scheduled to be played next Sunday and will end the drought local soccer fans have been experiencing for some years.
Chippa United chairman Siviwe Mpengesi had applied to the league to play some of his club’s home games at Buffalo City Stadium to maximise the fan base.
However, after numerous inspections by the league the stadium was found to be in poor condition to host professional soccer games.
The league gave Buffalo City Metro until midday today to fix the outstanding issues including the pitch, ablution facilities and entrances.
In a meeting at PSL offices yesterday the league approved the stadium after a groundsman was brought from stadium management of Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Wednesday.
“The metro agreed to bring a groundsman from Cape Town and he has already started working on the issues we raised,” PSL’s Luxolo September said.
The other areas to be fixed include toilets and entrances which are said to have a potential to be hazardous to the scores of spectators expected to cram into the 16000 seater venue.
The approval of the venue will come as a huge relief to soccer fans in and around East London and other parts of the Eastern Cape.
Yesterday Bruce Meyer, whose Evergreen Lawns company has been doing some work on the stadium pitch, attributed the condition of the pitch to a lack of maintenance.
“It does not cost that much to maintain the pitch, so if only it could kept properly all this disqualification of the stadium would be a thing of the past,” he said.
The approval means the match between Chippa United and Orlando Pirates will also be played at the venue.
The return of top flight football in the region is expected to boost tourism potential starting with next Sunday’s match, as it will be televised live.
Small business enterprises are also set to benefit from scores of people expected to visit the city.
The Buffalo City Metro is expected to call a press briefing to formally announce the match as well as other issues such as the exact capacity of the stadium as well as ticket outlets.
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