COLUMN | Greedy ticket hoarders disadvantage football fans

Sold-out boards going up just hours after tickets to next week’s MTN8 final went on sale is a sign football lovers just couldn’t wait for the mouth-watering decider between Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch. Or is it?

Not for the first time, claims have been made that tickets selling out so fast – “in less than four hours” according to the PSL – has little to do with genuine fans eager to get themselves inside Moses Mabhida Stadium next Saturday.

Rather, it is said the bulk of the tickets were purchased by greedy people who hope to cash in on the final by reselling at an exorbitant price instead of the set R100 per ticket.

It is disappointing that this disturbing practice has not been discouraged by authorities, both at the PSL headquarters and Moses Mabhida Stadium, despite overwhelming evidence that tickets are not necessarily purchased by those who want to witness the cup final.

Plenty such evidence was seen on social media, with one video depicting an unknown fellow, worryingly, having purchased tickets for R11 000. These “businesspeople” will in the next coming days use the same social media to target desperate “customers” to fleece, reselling at ridiculously inflated prices.

It boggles the mind that, despite evidence, nothing seemingly is being done to stem the tide and protect legitimate football fans from being taken for a ride.

For a country who hosted World Cup 2010, our systems remain obsolete in protecting the fans. If supporters are not negotiating hectic traffic when getting to and from match venues, they now have to cope with people who shamelessly aim to make a profit off them.

This speaks volumes about the neglect the football fan has suffered at the hands of authorities, and even the government. A few weeks ago, some Johannesburg municipality's big wigs and big-stomach politicians were gallivanting around the Ellis Park precinct, telling us how it’s been spruced up for the Springboks vs All Blacks Test. For the first time in decades, we were told a train station became operational around that area, and apparently rugby fans could arrive at the stadium in minutes boarding from Sandton via Park Station.

Throngs expected to attend the Kaizer Chiefs v Mamelodi Sundowns clash tomorrow at FNB Stadium – which surely will attract a crowd bigger than what we saw at Ellis Park – will not have such luxury. Not only must they fend for themselves, but they will have to contend with the usual harassment by car guards who demand a hefty fee for finding you a parking spot. 

There’s also a new phenomenon of ticket hustlers who, as we reported last year, sell fake tickets outside football venues. They are said to have been directly responsible for a mini-stampede at Soccer City a few years ago, because fans whose fake tickets had been rejected by scanning machines attempted to force their way through. Sadly, not much has been done as the ticket “touters” operate unbothered.

They will again be on the prowl at Moses Mabhida next week, looking to cash in on their investment, in particular targeting travelling fans, most of whom will make a trip to Durban without a ticket in hand.

What is to be done? The PSL and the ticketing companies should impose a limit on the number of tickets an individual can buy and insist on proof of identity for such transactions.

By the way, why are all tickets priced at R100 each? I thought World Cup 2010 taught us stadium seating is not the same. Someone watching the match from the centre-line terraces should not paying the same as someone who in the upper tier.

But what do we know? Perhaps what only matters to authorities is that sold-out sign.