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TIGHT SECURITY FOR SOWETO DERBY!

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File Photo.
File Photo.

ORGANISERS of the upcoming Soweto derby will leave no stone unturned to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

Thousands of spectators will be expected to fill up the FNB Stadium for the derby clash between Kaizer Chiefs and rivals Orlando Pirates on 21 October.

This as the sad memories of the two fans who died tragically in July are still vivid for many.

Sports Minister Thulas Nxesi appointed a ministerial committee of inquiry to investigate the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

The organisers, however, are making every possible effort to ensure the biggest fixture on the PSL calendar is free of disaster.

“We are going to put in two additional ticket checkpoints around the stadium to verify the authenticity of the tickets,” said Stadium Management South Africa CEO Jacques Grobbelaar.

“We’ve beefed up our security companies. Eight are on site now, undergoing training, and then there are the police.

“Some people come to the stadium with premeditated plans of breaking into the stadium. We need to deal with those as well as counterfeit tickets.

“We plead with fans to buy tickers only at Computicket or Shoprite/Checkers and to come early to the match.

“If the fans get that right, then we will know that we’ve got 99 percent of the public sorted out because on our side we are 100% sorted out in terms of our planning.”

Grobbelaar added that they had found a solution to their problems, which they tested during Bafana Bafana’s World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso on Saturday.

But the plan has to be approved, fine-tuned before being finalised next week.

He also acknowledged that the changing risks also necessitated a change in planning.

“The plans we have in place this year might not work next year,” Grobbelaar cautioned.

“But we’ve evolved our plans with the risks we’ve been exposed to and we are comfortable we’ve got those risks mitigated. But be sure, in time there’s going to be a new risk.”

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