The Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Wednesday defended its surprise decision to play the SAA Supa8 Cup final between Bloemfontein Celtic and Supersport United at Potchefstroom’s Olen Park on Saturday September 17 because it was ”the most neutral venue available”.
”The rules of the Supa8 competition stipulate the final has to be staged at a neutral ground,” said PSL financial manager Ronnie Schloss, ”and Potchefstroom is the best we could find to accurately satisfy this condition — being almost equally situated between Bloemfontein and Pretoria.”
Schloss revealed that the choice of Potchefstroom had been made on Tuesday on condition that an investigative PSL team inspected the pitch and the facilities generally and ruled they were of a standard befitting a final.
”The inspection took place on Wednesday,” added the PSL financial manager, ”and the ground has received the thumbs-up sign.”
Schloss said the PSL believes the 20 000 seats at Olen Park will be adequate for the occasion — but with a large contingent likely to travel from the Free State and the area starved of major soccer, the capacity could be tested to the limit.
The main misgiving surrounding Olen Park, however, concerns the quality of the pitch, which is mainly used for rugby matches and was of a sub-standard level when Bafana Bafana utilised the venue two seasons ago.
”But we have got almost three weeks to prepare the pitch and ensure that it is in shape for the Supa8 showpiece,” said Schloss, ”and we’re confident everything will be satisfactory on the day.” — Sapa