Stadium Management Chief Executive Officer Bertie Grobbelaar has confirmed their new ticketing partner and several changes after the issues at the recent Soweto Derby.
In a match that many would remember for Patrick Maswanganyi’s last-minute winner with an audacious panenka penalty for Orlando Pirates over Kaizer Chiefs, for some, it was an event that was marred by lack of control of supporters entering the Calabash.
With the capacity set at 87,000 for the game, over 100,000 fans were inside the arena, which caused an overflow, with fans eventually entering areas as the media zone, jumping over fences and creating chaos that security were outnumbered by.
Grobbelaar confirmed fake tickets, bribes with security and several other issues they are resolving will be in place ahead of the next Derby hosted by Kaizer Chiefs which is scheduled for 3 May.
“There’s been an increase in the amount of fraudulent tickets and access control we’ve had at the venues, specifically with sold out capacity fixtures, with the two clubs we’ve explored options over the last season and a half to enhance the accessibility of tickets, to make it easier to purchase tickets, to get in the venue and to curtail fake tickets,” he said.
“The plan was to implement a new ticketing system at the start of the 2025/26 season but unfortunately after the derby in February it became evident that we need to accelerate the process, in our debriefing session with the Venue Operating Centre (VOC) and the SPC committee, PSL and other stakeholders, we identified two issues; fraudulent tickets, scanning issues at entry points and human error and human malifide by scanning staff and security staff.
“In some instances it’s these people working together, taking bribes to let people in. At the Derby of a capacity of 87000, we had in excess of 100,000 people in the venue – how do we know that? We installed a secondary counting system at the turnstiles.”
With immediate effect, 1 March, OpenTickets will take over with new ticketing purchase options is available to fans – this opens doors to buying tickets via bank apps and WhatsApp as an additional offering.
With 46,000 tickets of the derby was bought at outlets, the till slip tickets included, it was important to find a viable alternative.
“There’s new ways now to install security features on these new tickets, with the Derby at 87000 at the gates, at the soft checks, it’s impossible to do so with the till slip tickets – so that box couldn’t be ticked,” Grobbelaar added.
“We have discontinued the till slip tickets but it leaves us with 46000 people without access to tickets, so in discussions we managed to secure 1700 outlets around the country.”
Check out today’s Betway Premiership fixtures and the updated log in our match centre.
Pirates Media Officer Thandi Merafe: “As one of our brand values of Pirates, we believe in innovation. This is a new safer way to purchase tickets and enhancing the stadium experience of fans. We were unpleasantly surprised by the turnout of the Derby – it’s expected that there’s a high level of interest.
“But it’s our duty as event organisers, as Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to make sure fans are safe and secure or having the possibility that you having a ticket and not able to enter due to fraudulent tickets.
“The till slip tickets were a good idea at the time but it’s become a problem. No more slip tickets – there will be safer mechanisms and technology used for scanning tickets of fans.”
Her Kaizer Chiefs counterpart Vina Mapohosa added: “We, as Kaizer Chiefs, we are excited about this development. We think it is something it is something that we’ve been looking forward to. It is not a surprise that we’re moving in this direction.
“We hope that this new ticketing system with Open Ticket will come through with secure solutions that will minimise delays and causing confusion with our supporters.
“We’re looking forward to implementing this system, we got a match on the 4th against Magesi right here at this stadium. We’re going live in the afternoon, after this press conference we will confirm our supporters can buy the tickets. We urging supporters to buy tickets for the Magesi match and other matches going forward.
“In conclusion from Kaizer Chiefs point of view, we’re looking forward to this new ticketing system and vendor partnership with Open Ticket will significantly enhance the fan experience and we look forward to continuing to provide fans with the best service and support.”
Watch the full press conference below:
