Soccer City closing down

2006-12-07 16:34

Johannesburg - Soccer City, the famous Johannesburg stadium chosen to stage the final of the 2010 World Cup, is the scene for a potentially explosive match on Saturday before closing down for a major revamp.

The 20-year-old stadium, one of the largest in the continent, is expected to be packed with some 80 000 fans of South African archrivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, who will battle it out in a fitting adieu to the local "mecca" of football before it undergoes a $221m refit.

Saturday's encounter is being seen as a litmus test for South African football officials and police who have pledged to do their all to ensure a model first World Cup in Africa and minimise the possibilities of either violence or hooliganism.

Matches between the two Soweto-based clubs have traditionally evoked passion, sweat and ... blood.

South Africa's worst football disaster occurred on April 11, 2001 at Ellis Park where 43 people were killed in a stampede during a match between the two arch-rivals.

And there are fears that the nailbiting encounter at the venue, one of 10 World Cup stadiums, may be marred by hooliganism.

Players and supporters of both teams have been hogging newspaper headlines in recent weeks for all the wrong reasons.

Hurled missiles

Pirates supporters recently ripped through the Ellis Park stadium, Johannesburg's second biggest football venue, and hurled missiles at the referee and his assistants during a key match.

Then the club's Zambian midfielder Isaac Chansa also heaped insults on the assistant referee and allegedly throttled him by the neck on his way out of the stadium after being given a red card in a league match.

The Chiefs are also known for their bad behaviour and their supporters were banned from two matches for unruliness after ripping out the seats at their home ground Soccer City.

But South Africa's Premier Soccer League on Thursday said they were pulling out all the stops to prevent any misbehaviour or violence.

Ntambi Ravele, the league's spokesperson, told AFP: "All measures are in place. Security personnel and police officers are being deployed."

"We have had a security meeting to discuss all the other logistics."

After the match, Soccer City which is located near Soweto - South Africa's most famous black township - will be closed for a R1.5bn revamp which will see its capacity increased to 100 000.

The revamped Soccer City will sport a new African look, inspired by traditional pottery designs, and is due to be up and running by 2008.

The Fifa delegation will meanwhile take up space at a new R60m facility being built near the stadium.

Besides the opening and finals of the World Cup, the new Soccer City will be the venue for five first-round matches, one second-round match, and one quarter-final.

- AFP