FNB and Mbombela stadiums have emerged likely venues for Orlando Pirates’ expected coronation in their last league game of the season against relegation-threatened Orbit College.
Yesterday, Orbit general manager confirmed to this publication that their crucial season finale against Pirates won’t be played at Rustenburg’s Royal Bafokeng Stadium as originally planned, due to renovations that are under way at the 2010 World Cup venue.
The club later released a statement saying they were “currently in the process of securing an alternative compliant venue capable of hosting a fixture of this magnitude”.
The statement further assured that a “final confirmation regarding the venue will be communicated by Friday, May 15″.
Sowetan then gathered that this match was now likely to be played at either FNB or Mbombela stadiums. Interestingly, FNB is Pirates’ alternative venue and first-choice backyard of their biggest rivals, Kaizer Chiefs.
Mswenko Boys played their first three league games of the current season at Dobsonville Stadium as their primary venue, Olympia Park in Rustenburg, was still under renovations.
However, a source close to the club’s dealings ruled out Dobsonville Stadium. “It’s between FNB and Mbombela. Dobsonville is too small for this fixture. Remember, when Orbit hosted Sundowns at Olympia Park, almost 30,000 people attended and Dobsonville’s capacity is 20,000, so you can imagine what could happen there,” said the mole.
Olympia Park already poses a critical security and compliance risk for big matches, as was seen when Mswenko Boys hosted Mamelodi Sundowns there in March.
It’s not clear why Orbit opted against taking this all-important fixture to their other alternative venue, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, where they hosted Kaizer Chiefs on April 6.
PSL allows a team to register one home venue and two alternatives, but the league allows teams to take their games outside of registered venues, provided registered venues are unavailable for various reasons. Orbit haven’t used Royal Bafokeng this season, meaning they’ve technically used two of their three registered venues in Olympia and Dobsonville.
Bertie Grobbelaar of Stadium Management SA (SMSA), who manages FNB Stadium, couldn’t be reached to confirm if the 2010 World Cup stadium had indeed been mooted to host Orbit v Pirates on May 23.
City of Mbombela spokesperson Joseph Ngala could also not be reached.
Pirates need to win their last two games against Durban City at home this weekend and Orbit the following Saturday to be champions. In 2003, Pirates were crowned champions at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, meaning they’re missing a chance to potentially win another championship at that ground.
Sowetan
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