eThekwini pays people to watch local games

2012-08-31 14:19

Moses Mabhida Stadium

Durban - The eThekwini municipality has set aside R1.5m to entice people to watch games at three of Durban's stadiums at ratepayers' expense, the Mercury reported on Friday.

The move comes after concerns were raised about the long term viability of the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The city has already paid R50m since the Soccer World Cup to attract events to the stadium.

The head of the department of parks, recreation and cemeteries Thembinkosi Ngcobo said the tickets purchased by the municipality would be given to the Sharks, KZN Dolphins, Lamontville Golden Arrows and AmaZulu FC .

"Our stadiums are not full during soccer matches because people support Joburg clubs like Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. We want our stadiums to be full for every event," Ngcobo said.

The money would also be used for campaigns to encourage people to watch local games, recruit cheerleaders and promote cultural events linked to sports, he said.

DA caucus leader Tex Collins said buying tickets and giving them away was a "crazy idea" that his party would never support.

Minority Front councillor Patrick Pillay said there had to be more creative ways to encourage people to be involved in social cohesion programmes as opposed to squandering ratepayers' money.

- SAPA