The North West provincial government has urged the people of the province to pack Mmabatho Stadium on Saturday, 15 November 2008 to support the soccer derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.

As the provincial government, we are excited to be the host of one of the top derbies in the world. Not only will this be an opportunity for the people of Mafikeng and North West to see their football heroes, the game also offers ordinary vendors and other small businesses the possibility of accessing economic opportunities that come with such a momentous event.

As usual, all law-enforcement agencies of our country will be on full alert to ensure the safety of all football followers. Accordingly, we urge all those who will be coming to Mafikeng on Saturday to co-operate with our law-enforcement officers, obey the rules of the road and drive safely so that everybody could arrive alive.

Mafikeng has held high profile events and successful big football tournaments before. We have no doubt that Saturday will further confirm North West capacity and readiness to host the 2010 World Cup. Our people are passionate about their favourite game and we are confident that this will be on display on Saturday. We hope that other teams will also bring some of their games to Mafikeng in the near future.

Whatever the result on Saturday, football and the North West will be the winner.