Last year, Sowetan reported about syndicates that operate outside FNB Stadium selling fake tickets, especially during the Soweto derby. Sowetan reporters also bought a ticket, which was shown to Grobbelaar but he could not ascertain if it was forged or not.
On Thursday, however, he said nobody with fake tickets will be able to enter the stadium as they had heighten their security measures.
“You have two categories of these people: one who knowingly sold or produced the fake tickets and then you have the ones who, despite all the warnings, purchase the tickets.”
To deal with those people, Grobbelaar said they had deployed a security reaction unit, public order policing and visible policing units to deal with fake ticket holders.
By 3pm on Thursday, about 9,000 general access tickets were sold for the game, which starts at 3.30pm. All 8,500 suits are also sold out.
FNB Stadium bosses beef up security on derby tickets
‘We have introduced a double scanning system’
The management at FNB Stadium has tightened its security to fight the sale of fake tickets as they prepare for another Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
Bertie Grobbelaar, managing director of Stadium Management SA, who are in charge of the stadium, told Sowetan on Thursday that they have introduced a new access mechanism to limit illicit tickets being used to gain entry into the ground.
He said while they could not control illicit traders from printing tickets, they had improved their verification systems and increased security measures to mitigate against fake ticket holders gaining entry.
“We have introduced a double scanning system. The turnstile scan and at the search point your ticket will be scanned. I am confident that you will not go through those two points with a fake ticket.
“When you arrive at the venue you go through a soft check where someone looks at the physical ticket, then you go through the search point and then the scan. Now an additional scanning point has been added at the final point.”
Last year, Sowetan reported about syndicates that operate outside FNB Stadium selling fake tickets, especially during the Soweto derby. Sowetan reporters also bought a ticket, which was shown to Grobbelaar but he could not ascertain if it was forged or not.
On Thursday, however, he said nobody with fake tickets will be able to enter the stadium as they had heighten their security measures.
“You have two categories of these people: one who knowingly sold or produced the fake tickets and then you have the ones who, despite all the warnings, purchase the tickets.”
To deal with those people, Grobbelaar said they had deployed a security reaction unit, public order policing and visible policing units to deal with fake ticket holders.
By 3pm on Thursday, about 9,000 general access tickets were sold for the game, which starts at 3.30pm. All 8,500 suits are also sold out.
Despite the sluggish performance of the two soccer sides and the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns in the league over the past years, Grobbelaar said tickets sales had shown that there was still general interest in the Soweto derby with ones played after Covid 19 restrictions being sold out.
He said he was pleased with the stadium’s preparations for the game in relation to safety and security.
Spectators are urged to come early.
“There’s going to be 90,000 plus people in the precinct and there’s four main arteries that feed that stadium, so you can't expect to have a Sunday stroll when you leave an hour before kickoff at home,” said Grobbelaar.
He said the club has a lot of preparation and performances for ticket holders on the day, which can be viewed on their website.
“There’s a lot of activities with giveaways, and there’s live music performances. Come and enjoy the day and not a 90-minute outing where you frustrate yourself in traffic to get into the venue,” said Grobbelaar.
– Additional reporting by Noxolo Sibiya