Why PSL chose Durban for derby final

The Moses Mabhida Stadium manager, Vusi Mazibuko, says the Premier Soccer League (PSL) booked the Durban venue to host the Nedbank Cup final on May 10 because of a music event taking place at Nasrec on the same date.

There has been an outcry from many about the final between Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, being staged at the 60,000-seat stadium instead of the FNB Stadium, which can accommodate up to 100,000 supporters.

Mazibuko said: “[The] PSL makes decisions about where they take their finals. It is not about how much or what we offered.”

It is understood that the PSL would have preferred to stage the final at the FNB Stadium, but could not due to the Ultra SA music event set to take place at Nasrec on May 9 and 10. So, they opted for the Durban stadium instead.

Moses Mabhida rarely goes a season without staging a final or two. They hosted the MTN8 final between Pirates and Stellenbosch earlier this season, while Bloemfontein staged the Carling Knockout.

This will also be the 19th time since 2010 that Durban will host a PSL cup final.

Mazibuko said the stadium will have a way to deal with fraudulent tickets, which were prevalent in recent big matches. The Soweto derby on February 1 was oversold, with well over 12,000 bogus tickets detected.

This forced Stadium Management SA, which runs FNB Stadium, to ditch Ticketpro for Open Tickets in a bid to curb fake tickets at their venues, which include Orlando and Dobsonville stadiums. 

“There are structures that deal with the management of the game, including tickets, access and dealing with any other criminal elements that may creep in,” Mazibuko said.

“Those meetings will include the police, the league, the venue and other stakeholders. Once that has happened, an announcement will be made to the relevant structures as to how access will be controlled.”

PSL Finals at Moses Mabhida Stadium since 2010

2010: MTN8, Pirates v Swallows

2012: Telkom Knockout, Celtic v Sundowns

2013: MTN8, Pirates v Platinum Stars

2013: Nedbank, Chiefs v SuperSport

2014: MTN8, Chiefs v Pirates

2014: Nedbank, Pirates v Wits

2015: Telkom, Sundowns v Chiefs

2017: MTN8, Sundowns v CPT City

2017: Nedbank, SuperSport v Pirates

2018: MTN8, SuperSport v CPT City

2019: Telkom, Maritzburg v Sundowns

2019: Nedbank, Galaxy v Chiefs 

2020: MTN8, Celtic v Pirates

2021: MTN8, CPT City v Sundowns

2022: MTN8, AmaZulu v Pirates

2023: MTN8, Pirates v Sundowns

2023: League Cup, Stellenbosch v Galaxy

2024; MTN8, Pirates v Stellenbosch