Cricket SA welcomes fans back to stadiums, tickets for T20 tournament available from Monday

Cricket SA (CSA) will be the first federation to welcome fans back into stadiums for domestic matches after the organisation announced on Sunday that a maximum of 2,000 fully vaccinated supporters will be able to buy tickets for the ongoing T20 Knockout competition from Monday.

CSA said that tickets will go on sale to the public at 9am on Monday morning and will be sold for R50 for the remainder of the matches of the T20 competition which is at the quarterfinal stages.

With a vaccine certificate, ID and a ticket in hand, fans will be allowed through the turnstiles to watch South Western District take on the Titans at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley from 10am and later the Knights against Western Province at 2pm in the first set of quarterfinal matches at the same venue.

The Dolphins face off against the Warriors in the early match on Thursday followed by the Paarl Rocks and North West Dragons to complete the quarterfinals.

CSA said there will be an “outer ring” created at the Diamond Oval prior to the turnstiles opening where security will validate that every spectator gaining access to the precinct is fully vaccinated.

While fully vaccinated vendors will be allowed to trade, there will be no alcohol sales or consumption in the vicinity of the match venue.

CSA acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki said tickets will be sold on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

“Due to limited capacity still and to minimise any disappointments we encourage cricket fans and sports followers to quickly get their tickets as soon as sales open. 

“We also take this opportunity to remind and encourage all sports lovers to ensure that they are fully vaccinated in order to improve the health situation in the country and to hopefully reduce the Covid-19 numbers, as this will eventually see a growth in the number of fans in the stands.”

CSA said capacity will be split over suites, stands, and the grass embankments and ticket sales to fans will be conducted online only, in line with health and safety regulations, to reduce interaction with spectators.

The online function will allow the fans to download and self-print the tickets in a PDF format.

Access control will follow the normal protocols, with the ticket and accreditation cards being strictly monitored to provide a detailed log of all access to the stadium. 

The move is in line with the amended regulation 69 of the Disaster Management Act, which allows 2,000 fans at sporting venues.

The SA Football Association (Safa) became the first to welcome back fully vaccinated supporters last week when Bafana Bafana beat Ethiopia 1-0 in their 2022 Qatar Fifa World Cup qualifier in front of about 2,000 spectators.

The occasion at the 94,000 capacity FNB Stadium marked the first time fans returned to a sports venue in South Africa in over 18 months.

The Safa hierarchy said given that the return of fans against Ethiopia was a pilot project that turned out to be a success, the association is considering allowing more than 20,000 fully vaccinated fans to attend Bafana’s next home match against Zimbabwe on November 11.

The successful hosting of fans for the Bafana game was celebrated across the country and it is believed that the Premier Soccer League will follow in the mother body’s footsteps.

There was a glimmer of hope last week after the league’s executive committee resolved to use the October 30 MTN8 final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban as a pilot project for the return to stadiums for domestic football.

The league’s executive committee said it will meet again this week to assess the outcome of its consultation process and communicate the approach that will be implemented.

The domestic Premiership returned this weekend with no fans after the Fifa international weekend.

SA Rugby has also announced that rugby fans will return to stadiums.