Sports
Post-World Cup Event: Soccer City Records Crowd
A record 87,000 spectators filed into Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium for South Africa’s season-opening Charity Cup on Saturday, less than a month after the arena hosted the World Cup final.
The country’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) said it had sold 80,000 seats for the one-day tournament, which features four teams in three separate matches, and handed out a further 7,000 complimentary tickets.
It was the first event at the stadium since Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 on July 11 to lift the World Cup.
The attendance figure will be broken again in two weeks when a first-ever rugby match is hosted at the cavernous venue.
The stadium gained iconic status during the World Cup for its distinctive look, resembling a colourful African calabash or pot.
A 88,791-seat sellout for the Tri-Nations test between the Springboks and New Zealand’s All Blacks on August 21 has already been announced.
Soccer City has a total capacity of 94,700 but during the World Cup only some 84,000 seats were sold because place was required for extensive media and VIP facilities.
The PSL is hoping heightened interest following the success of the World Cup will spark an increase in attendance for local league games, which have been poorly supported over the last decade.
“We certainly want to see the fans coming into the stadiums, we want to see all the people who were at the World Cup coming back and experiencing more,” said the league’s chief executive officer Kjetil Siem.
In an effort to capitalise on post-World Cup fever, the PSL announced it would kick off its league campaign on Aug. 27 with two back-to-back matches at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, also built for the World Cup.
The stadium’s capacity has been reduced to 52,000 with the removal of temporary seating installed for the World Cup. PSL spokesman Altaaf Kazi told Reuters they were confident of a sell-out crowd.
The new stadium in Durban will also be used for local league matches this season.
Saturday’s Charity Cup traditionally opens the season with the country’s four most popular clubs, voted for by public ballot, contesting two semi-finals and then a final, starting at 10 a.m. local time and concluding well into the night.
Tickets for the day cost 50 and 70 South African rand (about $7-$10), less than half for the cheapest seat at the World Cup.
The Nigeria Football Federation has defended the recent quarter-finals draw for the 2025 President Federation Cup, saying it was conducted in line with best global practices.
A member of the NFF Executive Committee Board, George Aluo, stated that criticism over venues for the quarterfinals was unfortunate.
Going by the fixtures released on Saturday by the football body, Abakaliki FC will take on Nasarawa United in Benin, Wikki Tourists will clash with Ikorodu City in Bwari, Abuja, Akwa United and Kwara United will fight it out in Enugu, just as Area 3, Abuja, will host the encounter between Rangers International and Plateau United. All matches are scheduled for May 3rd for the emergence of semifinalists in a leg affair.
However, there have been criticisms over the Ikorodu United vs Wikki Tourist tie billed for Abuja, with a section of the press saying the venue is skewed in favour of the Bauchi team.
Aluo, also the Chairman of the Nigeria National League (NNL), said: “Some of our media men need better education, and newsmen should not be like the fans out there on the streets. In the English FA Cup, it is always a one-legged pairing that can see a club like Arsenal host Manchester United at home”.
A new contract that will see Act Sports Di Oyibo Limited managing the career of Nigerian teqball specialist, Victor Oyemade, has been signed in Lagos.
The deal gives exclusive rights to Act Sports to manage, and exercise power of attorney over issues relating to the player’s welfare as it concerns his transactions, engagement for professional, promotional, sponsorships, endorsements, and exhibition purposes.
In signing the document, both parties also agreed that proper safeguards would be put in place to protect and promote the player’s interest at all times.
Director of Act Sports, Di Oyibo Limited, Pastor Samuel Robinson Oyibo, excited about the deal, said it would benefit both parties in the area of spreading the message of the sport, as well as laying a firm foundation for his new client’s future.
“Teqball is one of the world’s fastest-growing ball sports, and Victor Oyemade is the face of the sport here in Nigeria and Africa. That is why we are excited about this partnership that gives Act Sports official authorisation to manage his career, just as it will lay the foundation for its rapid growth in our country,” Pastor Oyibo said.
Oyemade was no less excited about the deal, saying it would help his growth in the sport.
Coaches of Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 women’s handball teams have released their final lists of 14 players ahead of the IHF Women’s Trophy Zonal Phase, which will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, that commenced yesterday to end 24th of this month.
The two teams have been training at the Rowe Park Sports Centre, Yaba, Lagos, for close to two weeks and departed for the competition on Thursday.
Coach John Uzor of the national U-18 team has included Omole Joy of Defender Babes and her sister Omole Shola alongside Ojie Princess of Funad Academy alongside right back Faisat Balogun in the mix while Success Duru, Chetachi Ngaodurubie of COAS Babes and Sharon Okonkwo make the cut, amongst other players.
In the U-20 team, Coach Shittu Agboola has largely stuck with the players he has been grooming since their U-18 days. The team is led by Captain Chidera Ogbusimba alongside, her Rima Queens teammates the Samuel Sisters, Amina Mohammed and Joy Peters.
Israel-based Rahima Bello, Kehinde Babatunde of ASPAC HBC of Benin Republic and Esther Mathew, who is also based in Benin Republic, keep their places.
Coach Shittu believes his team will make Nigeria proud just as they did previously at the U-18 level.
“I am really upset that Taiwo Babatunde will not be part of the team for this competition as her school, Yaba College of Technology, insisted that they will not release her for national service because of examinations.
“We did everything humanly possible to secure her release and they didn’t care that it is a national service for the interest of Nigeria and the growth of sports. We have other players who are also students and they got a release from their schools but for no tangible reason, Yabatech refused to release Taiwo despite the fact that we did everything possible to secure her release. It’s sad and I hope the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Sports Commission will work in tandem so that schools will support our goal in making Nigeria proud in sporting events”.