A suggestion by Moroka Swallows to their long-time Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates to stage a Premier Soccer League (PSL) ”double header” bonanza at Ellis Park on Wednesday night has been snubbed by the Buccaneers.
Championship-challenging Pirates are due to play Free State Stars at Ellis Park on Wednesday night, with a ”homeless” Swallows in a pinnacle battle against Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
”We figured that combining the two games which have a crucial bearing on the PSL title race could have filled Ellis Park and benefited both clubs,” said Swallows MD Leon Prins. ”But Pirates ignored the suggestion.”
The Birds, who are on the fringe of the championship race themselves, have battled all season to secure a suitable home venue in view of the municipal authorities’ glaring failure to renovate the Rand Stadium and make the one-time headquarters of South African soccer fit for PSL matches.
”With Pirates rejecting what we thought was something of a brainwave,” said Prins, ”we have been fortunate to secure Orlando Stadium for the key game against Sundowns. But Orlando Stadium is set for major renovation and the ground in its present condition is functioning on borrowed time.”
Meanwhile, Swallows and Jomo Cosmos, who are both due to play home games at the Rand Stadium, find themselves homeless — and all because of the blasé negligence of an administration that boasts it is ”the home of champions”. — Sapa