DON'T expect carpet football at Soccer City tonight.
The jewel of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is again in disrepair following another pop concert ahead of an international friendly between Bafana Bafana and Zambia's Chipolopolo.
And Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, who only had one training session before the match, is far from amused.
"I'm surprised (at the state of the pitch) because this is a world-class facility. I wanted us to play here because it is our final chance to get the feel of the pitch before we are back here for the opening match (of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations)," said Igesund.
Bafana host Cape Verde at Soccer City in their opening Afcon match on January 19.
"I hear they had a concert here, but I wasn't too aware of that. I would have liked to see the pitch in a better condition for us to play here and obviously the rain made it worse," the coach said.
Music shows have become the prime focus to avoid using taxpayers' money to keep the venue running, according to Jacques Grobler, CEO of Stadium Management, which runs the venue. He said the pitch would be ready by tonight.
"The venue hosted the Linkin Park concert over the weekend and we had about 65000 spectators at the stadium and 20000 of them were on the pitch.
"So we have picked up about 15% damage to the pitch following the concert," Grobler said.
Parts of the pitch will also have discolouration. It takes a few days for the grass to turn green after attempts to restore the field to its original state.
"We would love to have luscious pitches, grass green from January to December, but in reality that is never going to be the case. Our mandate is to make this stadium financially viable so that the taxpayer doesn't have to pay a single cent," Grobler said.
He said Soccer City was dependent on the "commercial model" and that that includes about seven concerts to be staged at the venue next year.
More games played on a bumpy pitch are expected.
"It is a multi-purpose stadium and from time to time, the pitch will not always be what we wanted," Grobler said.
He confirmed that Soccer City is likely to resemble a cabbage-patch pitch during the big Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs because of the Lady Gaga concert on November 30.
Pirates host Chiefs on December 8.
"In future, to avoid this situation, the pitch will be semi-artificial. But we will start with that process after the Soweto derby because we don't want similar concerns before the Nations Cup," said Grobler.
Soccer City pitch damaged
DON'T expect carpet football at Soccer City tonight.
The jewel of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is again in disrepair following another pop concert ahead of an international friendly between Bafana Bafana and Zambia's Chipolopolo.
And Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, who only had one training session before the match, is far from amused.
"I'm surprised (at the state of the pitch) because this is a world-class facility. I wanted us to play here because it is our final chance to get the feel of the pitch before we are back here for the opening match (of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations)," said Igesund.
Bafana host Cape Verde at Soccer City in their opening Afcon match on January 19.
"I hear they had a concert here, but I wasn't too aware of that. I would have liked to see the pitch in a better condition for us to play here and obviously the rain made it worse," the coach said.
Music shows have become the prime focus to avoid using taxpayers' money to keep the venue running, according to Jacques Grobler, CEO of Stadium Management, which runs the venue. He said the pitch would be ready by tonight.
"The venue hosted the Linkin Park concert over the weekend and we had about 65000 spectators at the stadium and 20000 of them were on the pitch.
"So we have picked up about 15% damage to the pitch following the concert," Grobler said.
Parts of the pitch will also have discolouration. It takes a few days for the grass to turn green after attempts to restore the field to its original state.
"We would love to have luscious pitches, grass green from January to December, but in reality that is never going to be the case. Our mandate is to make this stadium financially viable so that the taxpayer doesn't have to pay a single cent," Grobler said.
He said Soccer City was dependent on the "commercial model" and that that includes about seven concerts to be staged at the venue next year.
More games played on a bumpy pitch are expected.
"It is a multi-purpose stadium and from time to time, the pitch will not always be what we wanted," Grobler said.
He confirmed that Soccer City is likely to resemble a cabbage-patch pitch during the big Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs because of the Lady Gaga concert on November 30.
Pirates host Chiefs on December 8.
"In future, to avoid this situation, the pitch will be semi-artificial. But we will start with that process after the Soweto derby because we don't want similar concerns before the Nations Cup," said Grobler.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos