PSL football has lots of entertainment competition. Especially in this day and age, where money is tight and alternative entertainment in plentiful. In fact, today even football is just a remote away in your living room, or local bar.
This Is Football Africa will also look after the welfare of the fans and seek solutions for problems and issues that South African supporters are concerned about. One thing is clear is that PSL security is a problem. We spoke to well known fans about their views on this matter.
Well known Kaizer Chiefs supporter Mama Fefe is of the opinion that supporters are not safe attending matches at PSL stadiums, she says: “I have no problems personally, as many people know me, I know how to go about doing things on matchday, but this isn’t about me only, what about all the other supporters ? Every single one of them, no matter how often they attend, are important.”
Ismail Harris, once a “Brand Ambassador” for Cape Town City FC, and a gentleman who is still a diehard CTCFC supporter, paints a picture for us as to what happens in the “Mother City.”
“I don’t think they are safe at all, even at the so-called ‘smaller’ games. Let me use Cape Town as an example. At Cape Town Stadium, the security outside the stadium is very good, but inside it’s lacking. At Athlone Stadium it’s pathetic, and you will find less than half the security outside the stadium compared to inside the stadium. I have had scuffles outside, getting through the turnstiles with people wanting to jump the queue, luckily for me, I am a big size guy and I use my size to control the situation. I have seen at Athlone Stadium, how Sundowns supporters broke down the barriers to gain access to the stadium, after it was announced that the stadium was full. This type of thing makes inside and outside the stadium very dangerous”
This “Citizen” shares some solutions with us:
Using Cape Town once again as a case in point, Ismail Harris suggests that both stadiums (Athlone and Cape Town Stadium) need to employ a special “Security Unit” that will handle the security at both stadiums . There needs to be security consistency, as people don’t feel safe going to Athlone Stadium. Even though it’s closer for most of the football supporters, the poor security makes fans stay away”.
Ismail is also of the opinion that fans should be separated in the stadiums, and be divided into sections for “Home” and “Away ” fans respectively.
“There definitely is a safety issue at stadiums countrywide, this is nothing new, we’ve tried raising our concerns before, yet up until now, none of the issues we’ve raised have been addressed to date explains prominent Kaizer Chiefs fan Masilo Machaka. It is all still falling on deaf ears. If you are driving on the N1, and you realise the route is not leading you to your preferred destination, unless you change your route yourself, that route isn’t going to change itself for you. You need to make the turns to change your direction, likewise the situation is not going to change itself, until the powers that be do something to help ensure safety at matches.”
