Ekse, yet another PSL cup final is headed to Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium bafethu!
The PSL confirmed that the MTN8 final will be played at the iconic 2010 FIFA World Cup venue on October 7.
Sure, it’s central to both finalists, defending champions Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, who are both from Gauteng.
I would argue that Mbombela, Mpumalanga and Bloemfontein are both also pretty accessible to both fan bases Johannesburg and Pretoria.
We are in for TREAT🤤![CDATA[]]>🤌
— MTN8 Wafa Wafa! (@MTN8) September 24, 2023
Is waar, Mzanzi, mark your calendars & brace yourselves!
Bafana ba Style 🆚 Happy People
Peter Shalulile🆚Zakhele Lepasa
🏆Bafwethu Sisonke ko Moses Mabhida, 7th October🤞#MTN8 #WafaWafa pic.twitter.com/gbv25P19bs
Fans have also been openly frustrated by what seems to be a “bias” towards Durban over the years.
And what about the rest of us who need to travel from further out?
We can’t do much finding out a week where the final will be played a week and half before the big clash.
One needs to have at least R3000 up to R10k to make the most of such a big fixture when coming from Cape Town.
Six out of the last seven MTN8 finals have been hosted at Moses Mabhida Stadium and they also hosted the 2011, 2013, 2014 Wafa Wafa finals as well before that. Add the Nedbank Cup finals in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019 and the Telkom Knockout finals in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019 and the picture is clear.
The process to select the host city is an open bidding process where the PSL invites cities to put their hands up as hosts for the different cup finals.
With the KZN and Durban being so keen, the PSL might as well sign a long-term agreement for all of the league’s finals to go to Moses Mabhida.
That way we all know to prepare ourselves for the annual Durban cup final fever action every season.
Our 2023 finalists were decided in true #WafaWafa fashion this past weekend 🏆
— MTN8 Wafa Wafa! (@MTN8) September 26, 2023
Relive the weekend’s action through the fans who witnessed it first hand👆
Umanqoba will be crowned at Moses Mabhida on the 7th of October! ... pic.twitter.com/42pYc55l6p
Germany has been doing it for years. Until 1984, their German Cup finals were held at various venues. However, since 1985, the Olympiastadion in Berlin has been the fixed venue for all the finals.
The situation is similar in England, their top flight cup finals are hosted at Wembley Stadium.
I want to know why Cape Town isn’t mentioned prominently in these conversations?
Therefore, there’s no better person to ask than the mayor himself, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
We’ll be talking to him on Wednesday night on Diski Nites about “the City’s commitment to football” live in Khayelitsha and you’re invited.
RSVP to [email protected] to be part of the audience that will get the chance to ask the mayor about football in the Mother City.