Stadium Management, Chiefs confident digital ticketing system will work at Soweto derby

Kaizer Chiefs and Stadium Management SA (SMSA) are confident there won’t be too many technical glitches regarding the new digital ticketing system for Saturday’s Soweto derby at FNB Stadium.

Kaizer Chiefs host Orlando Pirates in the sold-out encounter at the 94,000-seat 2010 World Cup final venue (3.30pm).

SMSA has been trialling the My Ticket system over the past few matches at FNB, and it has had its fair share of challenges leading to frustration for supporters.

SMSA CEO Bertie Grobbelaar said migration from traditional physical tickets to digital is necessary and long overdue and will help prevent the selling of counterfeit tickets.

In one derby last season, the venue was overcrowded because of fake tickets, with reports of more than 100,000 fans packed into FNB, posing a serious risk to attendees. Grobbelaar and Chiefs marketing and commercial director Jessica Motaung said a repeat of such a situation must be avoided at all costs.

We can’t allow fake ticket holders and overcapacity to dictate game day for us

—  Bertie Grobbelaar, Stadium Management SA CEO

“What’s encouraging is the club, with Stadium Management, has made one informed decision,” Grobbelaar said ahead of the biggest test to the ticketing system to date.

“We can’t allow fake ticket holders and overcapacity to dictate game day for us. To achieve a more fan-friendly experience, we need to improve on access control to the venue.

“We have been involved with the last three to four fixtures at the venue, and I have said it [perfecting the new system] is going to come with pain. We are not where we want to be, but we are going in the right direction.

“We dealt with 51,000 people in the last hour of the past two derbies. To get that number of people into the venue will put pressure on any system and crowd management and control.”

Grobbelaar said SMSA have enlisted the services of an external company to assist with the scanning of tickets.

“People need to arrive early, but from our side the processes need to be smooth as well. I don’t want to see an event like where we had over 110,000 people inside the venue and there were 10,000 with legitimate tickets outside.

“It is not a process that is going to change overnight. There are a lot of questions [as to] why we did not wait until next season to implement from the start. But we could not approach another derby with that risk.

“From a venue perspective, the club is looking after entertainment on the pitch, activations and providing an enjoyable experience for the supporters. It is the responsibility of the venue authority and other relevant stakeholders to ensure a safe experience.

“It was not what we expected over the last few fixtures, but we are moving towards a system that will allow for a safe and fan-friendly experience.”

Motaung pleaded with the supporters to arrive early to avoid congestion.

“We are in for an amazing derby experience, and we are asking for supporters to work with us so we are able to do things properly. The big thing is we are asking supporters to come early to the stadium.

“We have made sure through our sponsors that there are a lot of activations happening. The other important thing is to make sure the game starts on time, and we are looking forward to a great event.”

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