Razeen Gutta
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) have reportedly submitted a proposal to the government calling for a 50% capacity for fans in stadiums before the season concludes.
Soccer Laduma reported that the proposal has been in the works for quite a while and has finally picked up momentum now that Covid-19 cases in South Africa are low.
Football fans around the country have been calling for stadiums to reopen for quite some time. These calls turned into protests at last weekend’s Soweto derby, when thousands of supporters took to the streets demanding that fans be let back in again.
Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nocawe Mafu said last week that sport is crucial for the economy and that the department is doing everything they can for the return of supporters.
“I can tell you, the department is putting pressure on the government to make sure that those spectators are really back on the stands, we hope that it will happen very soon,”
“One thing is for sure, sport is critical for South Africans. And also, when you talk about economic reconstruction, sport is critical,” Mafu told iDiskiTimes.
“Those fans going to the stadium, they’re not going there for free, they pay. Also the young people that are coming up, you know, the people that are doing small jobs and small businesses, they make a living there, because they sell things. Our people must just hang in there,” she added.
The proposal comes as the second-year anniversary of fans being unable to return to stadiums approaches.
Since the onset of the lockdown, South African football fans have only been able to spectate at two games at the stadium – a Bafana Bafana encounter against Ethiopia and the last MTN8 final.
Image source: @Sport24
