The state of the Odi Stadium pitch for the crunch Castle Premier Soccer League (PSL) deciding encounter between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates on Saturday has been called ”promising” by acting stadium manager Jerry Moumakwe.
Moumakwe also revealed that no Premier League official had come to inspect the pitch and the stadium prior to the venue being confirmed.
”The turf is promising and normal. We were only told of the match being played here last week Thursday. The PSL knows the condition of the stadium,” Moumakwe said on Wednesday.
Odi Stadium was announced as the venue for the match after Sundowns failed to secure Loftus Versfeld.
However, concerns over the maintenance and safety of Odi Stadium have been raised by City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality sport and recreational manager Zelda Breytenbach.
”Odi is meant to be handed over to us but I am not sure who is running it at the moment. As far as I know nobody is maintaining it,” Breytenbach said.
Moumakwe added that the main problem with the stadium was getting out once a match is completed. ”We never had the expertise, but now that has been solved as we have reinforcements from the Tshwane Metro Police, the North West provincial traffic department and the South African Police Services.”
He was tight-lipped on who was entirely responsible for the upkeep of the stadium and could only confirm that they are ”in the process of procuring a service provider”.
Of more concern is that the stadium has hardly been used as it was considered unsuitable for staging PSL matches.
According to Moumakwe, the last time Sundowns played at Odi Stadium was in the Absa Cup against Kaizer Chiefs in 2003, while the final PSL match to be played at Odi was between SuperSport United and Ajax Cape Town in 2004.
In the past two years the venue has been utilised by Mvela Golden League side Mabopane Young Masters and a few Vodacom and Castle league teams. — Sapa