Nedbank Cup final ticketing turmoil: 10,510 buyers affected by oversale
- Martin T
- 18 hours ago
- 2 min read
The excitement surrounding the Nedbank Cup final between two giants of South African football, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, has been marred by a significant ticketing blunder.
A preliminary report by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) has brought to light that a massive 10,510 tickets were sold beyond the permissible capacity of the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
This over-selling resulted in widespread disruption on Monday, forcing refunds for numerous fans.
Moses Mabhida Stadium, with an approved capacity of 49,307, saw its match tickets sell out in just 90 minutes.
An independent capacity report by Managing Director of Stadium Management Bertie Grobbelaar detailed the allocation: 5,307 hospitality, 3,000 complimentary for sponsors and clubs, and 41,000 general access tickets.
The overwhelming demand for tickets led to delays, technical issues, and a system crash. Tickets went on sale on Monday morning (10:00) SA time.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday afternoon in Durban, Grobbelaar, also a ticketing assessment expert, explained that their system mistakenly processed more payments than it was equipped to handle when tickets went on sale.
Open Tickets, the contracted ticketing company, utilised Computicket as a distribution agent under a service level agreement.
Grobbelaar's report indicated that 4,956 tickets were sold through Shoprite and Checkers retail outlets nationwide, while 2,435 digital tickets were sold via the Open Tickets website. Computicket itself sold 44,121 tickets.
“Over issuing of the tickets, 19,561 tickets had to be allocated to people who paid, but did not get the tickets. 10,510 people, or not people, but tickets were paid for, but were over capacity, and those people had to be refunded,” said Grobbelaar.
Grobbelaar stressed that the total number of tickets issued for Saturday's match between Amakhosi and Bucs remained within the stadium's official capacity, thus dismissing any concerns about overcrowding.
