Mninawa Ntloko
4 November 2009
Johannesburg — SOUTH African Football Association (Safa) CEO Raymond Hack yesterday dismissed suggestions that the last-minute decision to move the national soccer team's friendly international against Japan from Johannesburg's Rand Stadium to Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was motivated by a desire to make a quick buck.
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was confirmed as the venue for the November 14 international and Hack insisted money was not the main factor behind the decision.
"We were not looking to make a profit but we had to make sure that we are able to at least break even," the Safa CEO said.
The game was initially supposed to be played in Durban but Safa discovered the newly built Moses Mabhida Stadium was not ready.
The match was then switched to Rand Stadium only a few days ago after Safa initially toyed with the idea of taking the encounter to Rustenburg. After the merry-go-round, Safa finally decided on Port Elizabeth.
This decision could affect official technical supplier Adidas, which had planned to unveil the new Bafana jersey in Johannesburg next week ahead of the match.
Adidas's preparations were centred on the match taking place in Johannesburg and last night's decision could throw the company's plans into disarray.
Unlike in previous years, the sportswear company may have to launch the jersey in the absence of the Bafana players as the whole team will already be based in Port Elizabeth by the time of the launch.
Suggestions were also made that political manoeuvring by the new Safa leadership contributed towards moving the match. But Hack said no political manoeuvring or "power struggle" influenced the decision.
"The fact is (Nelson Mandela Bay) is a 2010 World Cup stadium and we have to make sure that all the tournament venues have a chance to host international matches to prepare (for the global showpiece)."
Safa vice-president Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana said while he was not involved in the decision to take the match to the Eastern Cape, he could not understand why anyone would suggest the new leadership was behind the new choice of venue.
"What I know is that it was decided that these Bafana Bafana games should be played at stadiums that will host the World Cup next year," he said.
Port Elizabeth will have been desperate to redeem itself and host this encounter after the city's shambolic handling of the Vodacom Challenge between rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in July.
The 48000-seater Nelson Mandela Stadium was far from full but clueless traffic officials ensured that hundreds of supporters were still stuck outside the venue when the match got under way. The officials looked ill-prepared to handle the estimated 30000 fans who descended on the venue, and they gave contrasting information to supporters, leading to traffic jams.
While the venue itself is a world- class facility, the pitch was in a shocking state and the perimeter around the stadium looked like it had a long way to go before it reached the required standard.
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