A couple of days ago I received a frantic phone call from a friend of mine who is also a die-hard football fan. He was looking for the MTN8 quarter-final tickets for the match between Cape Town City FC and Kaizer Chiefs and couldn’t find them. He went to Checkers/Shoprite and Computicket, but was told tickets for the match were not sold at those outlets.
He picked up his phone and called me to ask where he could buy the tickets. And when I explained to him that in the Western Cape, tickets were only available at CNA, Edgars, Edgars Active, Edgars Connect, Jet and JetMart, I could sense an element of surprise in his voice.
And his surprise was more than valid: how does the PSL expect fans to purchase match tickets and come in numbers if they don’t make it easy?
Out of all these outlets that sell MTN8 tickets in the Western Cape, Khayelitsha is the only township where these tickets can be bought. In other areas people have to travel as far as Bellville, Claremont, Goodwood, Cape Town CBD, Sea Point, Pinelands, Wynberg, Kenilworth, etc, etc.
The closest outlet for fans in Lwandle township (Strand) to buy tickets is Somerset; the closest place for fans in Mfuleni township to buy tickets is in Kuilsriver (and Khayelitsha); the closest place for fans in Langa to buy tickets is in Athlone. How does that make sense? It doesn’t! Even Donald Trump can figure that one out …
I’m not really sure who came up with an idea of selling tickets at these outlets, but whoever it was, it was a bad idea.
The PSL is 20 years old this month, and old enough to know that key to their success is to make it easy for fans to purchase match tickets and attend matches. I’m not suggesting that fans must get room-service; I’m just making a plea for basic common sense.
This is the first cup match of the season and I know that some fans will be willing to drive or travel more than a few kilometres from their areas to buy these tickets, but it is really unfair – especially these days where petrol price is more than R11 per litre.
The number of fans attending matches have been dwindling over last few years and you would expect the League to do something; instead, this is what happens. I sincerely hope that this is the last time this happens and that for forthcoming cup matches, fans will be able access tickets at outlets near to them.