In which universe can you watch your national football team for just R60 a ticket, asks Gasant Abarder in a new #SliceofGasant column.
SAFA may get bad press and it’s often their own doing, but this time they got it right!
On Tuesday, 19 November 2024, my son, my daughter and I will be in the stands to watch a CAF 2025 Afcon Qualifier between South Africa and South Sudan at the DHL Cape Town Stadium. It costs me just R60 a ticket, and it’s R30 for children under 12.
I was offered press accreditation but declined. I want to sit in the stands with my two kids and soak up all the gees and witness a side that is on an upward trajectory.
It is a masterstroke by the much-maligned South African Football Association and they deserve credit where it is due. I can’t splurge to see the Boks or the Proteas at home because of the high cost of the ticket prices. But boy, oh boy, are we amped to witness an international football match in our own home town with loads at stake.
If you know anything about 50 percent of the Abarder household, you’ll know we play, watch, eat, sleep, breathe and live football. So, this is a real treat.
The Bafana detractors – with the team in the past a metaphor for the whipping boys of South African sport – have gone uncharacteristically quiet. There are no more jokes about how poor our national side is because they have been getting the results that matter.
And with our rugby lads and women’s national side, they have silverware pedigree – unlike the Proteas, who fail at major ICC cricket tournaments. The team has been on an unbeaten run for a while now, with a great showing at the last Afcon finals. It’s a run by Hugo Broos’s side that is seldom acknowledged.
Comparatively, R60 a ticket is a steal. I’ve been to an FA Cup final at London’s Wembley Stadium where the cheapest ticket was £100. That was maybe 10 years ago. The ticket I was eventually gifted was worth around R10 000. In September, a Europa League match in Istanbul would have set me back R500. But tourists can’t go to the game anyway because of complicated access control only available to locals.
For R60 a pop, I will be able to find parking, have excellent traffic control paving the way for quick access and exits – and all in a world-class stadium in arguably the best location in the world. You can be sure the City of Cape Town will be laying on the MyCiti buses. But we’ll be looking to take to the fan walk to make our way to the game and park in the CBD to make the most of the experience.
The experience per person is cheaper than a loaf of bread and a 2-litre bottle of milk. Yes, there are many who still can’t afford these basic foodstuffs but these tickets are accessible for many who rarely get the chance to see Bafana Bafana in action in a major match.
The added bonus is that Cape Town gets another opportunity to show off. Not just its awesome location and facility but its knowledgeable football crowd. It puts us in good stead to host future matches as a host venue for major tournaments when the Rugby World Cup, FIFA World Cup, Cricket World or an Afcon tournament eventually rolls around on our shores again. We’re due at least one of these events now.
Every time Bafana played here, we packed the stadium so let’s do it again. Last time I checked, there were still plenty of tickets left at Ticketpro and it’s so easy to purchase.
So, let’s come out in our numbers, Cape Town, and shout for Ronwen Williams, Themba Zwane, Teboho Mokoena and Co. Let’s give them the push to get to the Afcon Finals in Morocco in 2025 and win the whole thing while once again showing off our city to the rest of the world.
Ons kan nie worry nie. Want ons gaan wen!
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Picture: CoCT
