Concerns over no seating at Safe Hub
Soccer fans visiting Safe Hub in Alexandra often find themselves with nowhere to sit and enjoy their community’s favourite sport.
Watching soccer in Alex is a popular pastime and the Safe Hub venue is where many can relax and watch some exciting games. However, the venue cannot host large crowds, as there are no stands.
Lovey Mulaudzi is a local soccer player who trains at Safe Hub with his team and bemoans the venue’s lack of capacity for spectators.
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“Just standing here on the side at ground level even makes the game difficult to watch beyond the fences,” said Mulaudzi. “It’s hard to watch the game freely and enjoy it. Some people get tired from standing and just leave without watching the second half, even when the game is high-intensity.
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“Unlike at Alex Stadium, where you arrive to find shelter, and people can chill and sit in the shade. Here at Safe Hub, people stand and watch most of the time. It’s quite unfair, you know? There’s an upstairs section where they tell people not to stand, where there’s a perfect view.”
Seating, according to Ma-Africa FC CEO Khatu Ramovha, is only one of the challenges to enjoying football at the venue. Ramovha pointed out decaying infrastructure and a decline in security. He also bemoaned the loss of soccer balls during games, which occurs when high balls are kicked beyond the strict confines of the Safe Hub property.
“We are losing a grip of Safe Hub in terms of security. I see unsupervised children on the field. A second issue is of the fencing, as you see, it’s missing sections from wear and tear,” Ramovha said. “We have a real problem: balls are going missing. On one side, it’s very seldom that they return our balls to the ground.”
Ramovha stressed the urgency of solving the issue of stands for soccer lovers to sit and enjoy games.
“The issue of stands here at Safe Hub is a crucial one. If you think about it, soccer is very popular in our community, but can you imagine standing up for 90 minutes watching the game? We have elderly community members who cannot physically stand in the scorching sun for 90 minutes.”
He also expressed a dire need for changing rooms and more ablutions to be installed at the sporting venue, saying that it set a bad tone having visiting teams changing in full view of the public.
“Teams change outside, in front of women, and children supporters. It’s not nice to put teams through that, especially our visiting teams.”
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