The City of Durban has played host to the Amakhosi for the past couple of weeks and for their third consecutive league game, Chiefs will be back at the ABSA Stadium, after hosting Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns in consecutive matches recently in Durban.

The Amakhosi go from being the hosts to the visitors when they take on arch rivals, traditional foes and Soweto neighbours Orlando Pirates, in front of what is going to be a cauldron of noise as every ticket available for public sale has been snapped up for Saturday’s eagerly-awaited game.

With the match being a high level clash and taking into account recommendations for safety reasons that a safety buffer be put in place in terms of ticket sales, 37 000 tickets were made available to the public, all of which were sold out before the start of the week.

Fan parks

Kaizerchiefs.com got confirmation late on Monday evening from Orlando Pirates spokesperson Mickey Modisane, who confirmed that Saturday’s Soweto derby - the first of the current season between Chiefs and Pirates - would take place in front of a full stadium.

“We happy with the fact that tickets had been pre-sold and that we have had enough time to communicate the message with fans that it is an all-ticket affair. For fans who want to experience the stadium atmosphere but have been unable to get hold of any tickets, we ask them check their local media and watch the game at one of the fan parks being set up throughout Kwa – Zulu Natal,” said Modisane.

Chiefs message

Thebe Mohalte, the Kaizer Chiefs communication manager is confident that Chiefs fans will be at their best behaviour on Saturday, and put up a display of support that will wow the Fifa representatives as well as coaches and presidents of Fifa’s various associations and confederations who will be coming to the match.

With the Fifa World Cup preliminary draw taking place on Sunday in Durban, most of the 7 000 attendees will be in attendance at the ABSA Stadium to watch one of the most famous derbies in local football and Mohatle believes that the Chiefs fans can once again provide the 'wow' factor.

“Our fans played their part in helping South Africa win the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. They provided a real carnival like atmosphere which so impressed the Fifa technical inspection committee back in 2003 when they attended a Coca Cola Cup game between Chiefs and Ajax Cape Town at the Ellis Park Stadium, that they even mentioned it in their technical report before South Africa was eventually afforded the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

"With the eyes of the world on the game as it is being beamed around the globe, we at Kaizer Chiefs are confident that our supporters will be a good example of fair play and a wonderful advert not just for South African football but for the country in general”.

ABSA Stadium systems go

A match between Pirates and Chiefs at the ABSA Stadium is not new to the famous old ground as The Amakhosi and Pirates have done battle there in the past couple of years and played out an interesting and enthralling game there in the 2005 Vodacom Challenge Final.

They returned in May 2006 to the ABSA Stadium to contest the 2005 – 2006 ABSA Cup Final, in which Chiefs managed to emerge the victors. Gary Parker-Mance, the stadium manager of the ABSA Stadium, believes that they have the necessary plans in place to ensure the smooth running of operations prior to during and after Saturday’s match.

Mance said to kaizerchiefs.com about the venue's preparedness for the game, “We have in the past hosted games between Chiefs and Pirates. Those games passed without incident and with the plans we have in place for Saturday, we are confident that once again the ABSA Stadium will do a good job of hosting a game of this magnitude. Our stadium has the facilities and to ensure that the fans coming to the game have a good time out, we will do our level best to ensure that the game takes place without any incident.”