Sports fans will flock back to sporting arenas in increased numbers when the national state of disaster is reviewed next week.
Long suffering supporters have been starved of the opportunity to watch live action at stadiums and relegated to couch potatoes due to Covid-19 restrictions which prohibited large gatherings and banned attendances at sporting events.
But happy days are on the horizon as the gates are set to be opened for fans to flock to the cathedrals to watch their favourite sports live. Since October last year only 2,000 fans have been permitted to attend each game.
Rugby fans will be rubbing their hands in anticipation of attending the Springboks’ three home Tests against Wales in July and the World Rugby Sevens Series which will be staged at the Cape Town Stadium between September 9 and 12.
The Springboks will kick off in front of fans when they tackle Wales at Loftus Versfeld on July 2 in the first of their three Tests against the Welsh. Two more — Bloemfontein (July 9) and Cape Town (July 16) — will follow.
Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone said they’ve “sold close to 6,000 tickets in a day and a half” for the July 2 Test against Wales. “That is exactly what we hoped for. The feedback I’ve been getting from the other stadiums suggests their sales are going well. Ticket pricing will be important. Our Test match will be the cheapest one in the market,” he said.
The cheapest ticket for that Test will be R150 and the most expensive (not including hospitality) will be R850.
Rathbone said people who are apprehensive about going to stadiums on health grounds should not fret. “They have to be fully vaccinated. All the protocols have been tried and tested. We are very vigilant about how we seat people and which seats are available. There should be no fear of contamination. Then it depends on the announcement in terms of masks and alcohol consumption. We have to wait and see.”
Cricket lovers will also get a chance to soak up the sun in Centurion, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth when the Proteas host Bangladesh in three ODIs and two Test matches.
A DStv Premiership match between Kaizer Chiefs and log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns will be the first big football fixture to welcome hordes of football fans at the FNB Stadium on May 8.
A national coronavirus command council (NCCC) meeting was held on Wednesday where government departments, including sports, arts and culture — which the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has been engaging — presented a case for the fans.
Further NCCC meetings will be held today and tomorrow to give finer details of permitted numbers.
Sascoc president Barry Hendricks said he expected the government to announce changes which will see more fans flocking back to sporting arenas when the national state of disaster is reviewed next week.
“Sascoc is pushing for 75% capacity at the stadiums mainly for rugby, soccer and cricket because of the crowds they usually command in their matches. We’re hoping that when the announcement on the national state of disaster is made, sports fans will benefit the most,” said Hendricks.
“We’ve been working with the (sport) department on a task team and we proposed long ago the return to 50% with rugby, cricket and football bodies.
“We’ve given the government an assurance that the return of fans will also involve checking vaccinations and having vaccination with the tickets. That position hasn’t changed.”
Minister of sports, arts and culture Nathi Mthethwa said there was general agreement that sport must open up. “Where we have not finalised is on the actual numbers. At the most, we are raising the issue of 50%. That is a decent number. Where we are currently, on 2,000, does not make economic sense. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) have been saying they want fans back but 2,000 does not work when they make the opportunity cost. President Cyril Ramaphosa will be talking to the nation soon,” he said.
Mthethwa said the drive to bring fans back must be used as an incentive to increase vaccinations. “People must vaccinate if we want to have extra thousands of numbers at venues,” he said.
SA Football Association chief medical officer Thulani Ngwenya said: “We can stagger the return and we’ve always said we’ll have to continue adhering to health protocols, which of course should include vaccinations. We’ll await the government announcement.” .
Health department spokesperson Foster Mohale declined to divulge what his department presented during the NCCC meeting on Wednesday. “We presented our recommendations on how the country should move forward, but the decision will be made by the president.”
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