MBABANE — As thousands of fans head to tonight’s top-of-the-table clash, police warn of a sophisticated fake ticket scam targeting supporters, including those travelling from Eswatini.
The stakes could not be higher at the FNB Stadium. Defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, the 15-time South African titleholders, trail log leaders Orlando Pirates by just six points with a game in hand. While Pirates are desperately chasing their first league crown since the 2011/12 season, the off-pitch drama involving fraudulent tickets threatens to sour the occasion for many travelling supporters.
Stadium Management South Africa (SMSA) Chief Executive Officer Bertie Grobbelaar was quoted by the South African media revealing that crime intelligence has already successfully infiltrated several networks responsible for the distribution of counterfeit tickets. The scale of the fraud is staggering.
“We have infiltrated some of these networks through the assistance of crime intelligence,” Grobbelaar stated. “The individuals we have apprehended testified that, during a high-capacity event, a single syndicate can sell upwards of 3 000 fake tickets.”
As of this past Monday, 31 000 tickets had already been sold for the encounter. Due to the overwhelming demand, the fixture was moved from Pirates’ usual home, the Orlando Amstel Arena (capacity 37 313), to the iconic 94 736-seater FNB Stadium.
South Africa’s ‘Big Three’ of Pirates, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs boast a massive following in Eswatini. With the 7:30pm kick-off approaching, many emaSwati fans are making the trek to Johannesburg.
Zama Tsabedze, the Chairman of the Orlando Pirates Football Club (OPFC) Eswatini Supporters Group, confirmed that a large number of their members are heading to the Johannesburg but urged extreme caution.
“We have warned our members not to purchase tickets from the street,” Tsabedze said. “They must use official digital platforms only.”
Fans are reminded that possessing a counterfeit ticket will result in denied entry at the turnstiles.
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