SA football fans plead with PSL to let them back in

South African football fans are desperate to return to the stadiums to cheer on their teams, who they say are struggling because of a lack of support on match days.

ALSO READ: Mngqithi admits to Covid-19 concerns at Sundowns

Sports fans haven’t been allowed into grounds since around March last year when sport in this country was halted because of the first wave of the coronavirus.

And when sport did resume – a few months later under strict health and safety protocols – the fans were ordered to stay away and told to watch from afar.

Well-known Chiefs fan Saddam Maake said his team “needed” him.

“It is affecting me very badly,” said Maake. “We are missing going to the games… Our team is not doing well and they need us.

“Why can’t they allow people into the grounds in limited numbers, it’s bad.

“We know the regulations, we know we have to wear masks all the time when in public, we know about social distancing; we are human-beings and this is killing us.

“The casinos are full of people, the taverns are full of people, the nightclubs are full of people, what about us?”

Chiefs, with Gavin Hunt now at the helm, have endured a bumpy start to the new season and sit in ninth place in the DStv Premiership after recording just four wins from 15 outings.

Maritzburg United supporters have also blamed the fan-ban for their team being down in 14th place, with just two wins to talk about.

One of the loyal fans of “The Team of Choice”, Pam Ntuli, also feels her team are struggling because they don’t have their passionate supporters backing them.

“If we were there, singing and urging them on, they wouldn’t be where they are now,” said Ntuli.

“Teams dreaded coming to Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday nights because they knew what awaited them, but now they just come and do as they please.”

Ntuli said she understood why they couldn’t attend games, but at the same time urged the PSL and the Department of Sport to work out a plan for supporters.

“Even if it’s just 100 of us, we will do everything to ensure that all health protocols are observed. We are aware of how easily and quickly this virus spreads, and we will adhere to the regulations.

“We are starved of football. And for us who support small teams, it’s even worse because our matches are not always shown on TV; we have to rely on social media to get results which is not the same.”

For diehard Sundowns fan John “Black” Madumo the last 12 months have been hard. Long-serving coach Pitso Mosimane left the club while defenders, Anele Ngconga and Motjeka Mdisha lost their lives in car accidents.

“I wanted to go and bury Anele, but we weren’t allowed to go,” said Madumo. “I did, however, go and bury Motjeka. I think Anele came and fetched him; they were always together.”

Loyal Orlando Pirates fan Joyce “Mama-Joy” Chauke said that because the number of coronavirus cases in the country had decreased in recent weeks it was now time for the fans to be allowed back into the stadiums.

“Let’s make it 50 percent of the capacity,” she said. “We’re outdoors as well, which is a good thing, and we’ll all wear masks, which we are used to now. It’s time we’re allowed back in.”

Dejan Miladinovic, another staunch Pirates fan, said: “It’s really hard my brother, this thing of watching the game on TV is not good for us or the players.

“The games are no longer as exciting as they should be because the fans are not there. We the fans make football exciting and it helps the players to get motivated because we cheer them on for the entire game.

“It’s about time the PSL, Safa and the sports ministry did something about this. I really hope something will be done soon so that we can go back.”

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