SAFA welcomes the return to 100 percent capacity at stadiums

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has welcomed the government’s decision to repeal limitations on public events gatherings, allowing capacity crowds at sports stadiums.

SAFA Chief Medical Officer Doctor Thulani Ngwenya welcomed the decision, taken after a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council, and said South African football now has an opportunity to rebuild the stadium economy that was decimated by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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“We are back to normal,” said Doctor Ngwenya after the government also repealed the rules of wearing masks in public places. “The sector has been severely affected by the pandemic and it is now time to begin the fight for recovery from an economic point of view. It is a great opportunity to recover the economy.

“But I must add that we still need to be cautious, review our protocols on stadium safety. This is the time for us to review those protocols.” Doctor Ngwenya expanded further and said the change do not mean that vaccination must stop.

“The country has almost reached herd immunity because more than 50 percent of the country’s population has been vaccinated, and more 70 percent of the elderly population has been fully vaccinated. However this doesn’t mean that we have to stop with vaccination. We still need to continue with vaccination so that we minimize the risk of severe illness”

On 29 March this year, Premier Soccer League announced that the fans were allowed back to the stadiums after the government gave green light to the 50% capacity in gatherings. However, the fans that wanted to attend the games were required to be fully vaccinated, or hold a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours. Now, a 100% capacity will be a major boost to the teams that have a massive following.

Kaizer Chiefs are well known for having more fans than any football club in South Africa and the absence of fans in the stadiums made things worse in an already long rough patch they had faced. Stuart Baxter likened Chiefs struggles to Liverpool’s as they also found it hard to play without their fans cheering at them.

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“If you look globally, during the lockdowns and the empty stadiums, I think the teams who have the most fervent supporters have suffered the most,” Baxter told the media. “Liverpool, without their fans, were a different proposition. Having said that, I still think we should demand from ourselves professionalism an da professional performance to negate that,” added Baxter.

“I don’t think we should say we are only a good team when we have our fans. We should want to play for our fans anyway. I think it is a tragedy that the fans are not at the stadium, but at the same time it is selfish of us because we know we have great support,” added Baxter..