- Thousands were locked outside FNB Stadium when MyTicket scanners failed minutes before Kaizer Chiefs played Golden Arrows on Tuesday night.
- Fans Ishmael Mpongwe and Thabo Nhlapo warned the system could cause a stampede and said they want Computicket back instead.
Thousands of angry fans were left standing outside FNB Stadium on Tuesday night when the new ticket scanning system failed.
The chaos happened at the Kaizer Chiefs versus Golden Arrows match. The game kicked off at 7.30pm, but 15 minutes before that, thousands were still stuck in queues.
Ishmael Mpongwe from Benoni said he’s worried someone will get hurt. “I understand that it’s the first game to use this new ticketing system, but I foresee a stampede in the future,” he said, TimesLive reported.
“They must just change this system, especially for bigger games, because I don’t think it’ll work. We’d rather go back to the old system.”
Thabo Nhlapo from Vaal had bought four tickets online. Only one of them scanned.
“This new system is not working,” he said. “From what I am seeing here, there’s going to be a stampede in bigger games. If you check the game there, it’s already packed and we are a few minutes away from kickoff.”
Nhlapo said they should bring back Computicket. “They need to come up with another plan or maybe revert to using Computicket and we’ll scan at the turnstiles. This new access control has too much admin.”
A stadium steward also spoke out. “You see, there are people who’ve been queuing for more than 20 minutes now because the scanners are refusing valid tickets. This system is a mess,” the steward said.
The new system is called MyTicket. Stadium Management SA runs it and uses it at FNB and Orlando stadiums.
The company says it will make things safer and cut down on fraud.
Bertie Grobbelaar is the managing director of Stadium Management SA. He couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Before the game he had said: “By investing in our own ticketing and access-control platform, we are reducing fraud, improving ingress efficiency and taking direct responsibility for how spectators access the venues we manage.”
Pictured above: Kaizer Chiefs fans inside FNB Stadium.
Image source: @KaizerChiefs
