Stadium Management SA on Soweto derby ticket chaos: ‘The system did not crash’

Football fans were left frustrated once again on Monday by the MyTicket system ahead of the Soweto derby.

Tickets to the highly anticipated clash between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on 26 April sold out on Monday.

Fans took to social media to express their frustration with the ticketing system, some claiming it had crashed.

The new, much-talked-about system followed the chaos of the previous derby, which saw over 100,000 descend on the stadium.

Stadium Management SA CEO Bertie Grobbelaar denied there was a system failure, noting that the system withstood 116 million access attempts, and 70% of those were successful.

He explained that the system was overwhelmed by bots and scalpers trying to purchase tickets.

"The system did not crash… The system is fixed at eight tickets per individual… The system identified the bots and avoided the transactions."

Regarding overcrowding on game day, Grobbelaar said the stadium will implement new measures to reduce congestion, including four major road closures and a limited number of parking tickets.

With the lessons learned from past events, he said Stadium Management South Africa is working to ensure a smoother experience for all.

"We're going to reduce it to a large extent, [but] we're going to need the fans to cooperate with us,” he said.

To listen to Grobbelaar in conversation with 947’s Robert Marawa, use the audio player below: