/ 21 September 2008

MTN 8 fans offered refund after wash-out

The Premier Soccer League will refund fans who bought tickets for Saturday’s MTN 8 cup final — scheduled to be played at the Durban’s Absa Stadium — but was washed out due to heavy rain.

The dream final between arch rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns will now be played at the same venue on Tuesday night.

Kick-off is at 8.15pm. A total of 36 000 tickets were sold to the public, making it a sell-out. The remaining 16 000 tickets belong to suite owners.

Fans who cannot attend Tuesday’s final can obtain a refund from any Computicket outlet during business hours on Monday.

This was announced by PSL spokesperson Altaaf Kazi on Sunday. He explained: ”It was unforeseen. Nobody anticipated such heavy rain in Durban that waterlogged the pitch and made it unplayable. We had no option but to postpone the match until Tuesday. We are hoping that due to the holiday on Wednesday that we will still attract a full house.

Those tickets which are refunded will be put back on sale from Monday night. They will be on sale on Tuesday morning.”

Both teams are staying in Durban as it would cost a small fortune to fly them and their officials back to Johannesburg and then to Durban on Tuesday, he said.

Said Kazi: ”We will schedule a press conference on Monday afternoon and outline our new plans. We are sorry for fans who bought tickets for Saturday’s game but are unable to attend Tuesday’s match. That is why we have offered to refund them their money and resell those returned tickets so that we can create a big match atmosphere.”

With R8-million on offer in the first winner-takes-all cup final in South Africa, the PSL are expecting the refunded tickets to be snapped up.

The good news is that the wet and freezing weather in Durban over the weekend is lifting. – Sapa