More than 39 000 people were crammed into Mbombela Stadium on Sunday to witness Kaizer Chiefs taking on Maritzburg United in a Telkom Knockout semi-final.
That is 4 000 supporters short of the maximum capacity the stadium is able to contain – 43 000.

Stadium manager Roelf Kotze, who said it was only the second time this year the stadium had been this full, has expressed his delight at the response of the supporters.

“Even though we knew that we were going to get a capacity crowd, we were still pleasantly surprised,” he said.
“This affirms the fact that soccer remains relevant and extremely popular with thousands of people staying in Mbombela and surrounding areas.”

He explained it was a sea of yellow as the Chiefs were the strongest brand.

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“Knowing a game on home soil being celebrated in such a fashion is truly heart-warming. I could barely contain my emotions. Not only was the atmosphere electrical and magical, it was also a good test to see if the stadium’s system still works,” said Kotze.

He said the last time it was nearly this full had been in August, when  Orlando Pirates played against SuperSport United.
Kotze believes that there are several factors that contributed to the match being this well attended.

“The game being played on a lazy Sunday afternoon when public transport was available, the perfect weather and ticket prices being
R60 per adult and R15 per child were just some of those factors,” he said.

Even though it was well attended, ticket sales had no influence on the income the stadium generated through rent. “Because it was a PSL game, tickets were sold through Ticketpro,” he said.

Hosting such a multitude of supporters is, however, no easy feat.

“At least one security guard had to be arranged for every 80 people. Taking into consideration the number of people who attended, that boils down to about 487 security guards. We had to make sure that all gates were open, and areas like the upper tiers that are hardly ever used and as a result never cleaned, had to be prepared. The hospitality areas had to be serviced, and the number of hungry tummies and thirsty throats had to be catered for,” he said.

Kotze said the supporters behaved well. Then there was the traffic. “We had to keep it to a minimum – therefore 21 buses had to be arranged, and each made 42 trips, carrying in excess of 100 people at a time. We also had to make extra provision in the form of police, medical assistance and traffic officials. Luckily, there we no incidents,” he said.

“The absolute passion the spectators had for their team was remarkable, despite the favourites losing 2-1 to Maritzburg. For many, this was the biggest game they had ever attended, and maybe ever will,” Kotze concluded.

> Photos: Supplied by stadium management