Tornado weigh up options
Choice of venue for last 32 Cup clash with Chiefs a most important call
Tornado will not be tempted to take their upcoming Nedbank Cup last 32 clash against Kaizer Chiefs to a bigger venue like the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The Mdantsane-based ABC Motsepe defending champions are still considering the most suitable venue out of three venues that can host a match against the Soweto giants.
Club chairperson Siphiwo “Mawawa” Nyobo told the Daily Dispatch on Friday he wanted to bring the game to the people of the Buffalo City region, but they had to consider a couple of things before making the final decision.
“In the submission to PSL I said the game will be played at Sisa Dukashe Stadium or at Mthatha Stadium. But I haven’t decided which of one of these venues we are going to use,” said Nyobo.
“We need fans to show up because this is big for the province and the region and we are going to meet with Buffalo City Metro next week.
“Because if we bringing a team of this magnitude we are going to need every kind of help we can get, and we want the BCM region to have first preference because we are representing them in the Nedbank Cup.”
Nyobo said if Tornado was using Sisa Dukashe Stadium as their base of operations: “It was going to be easy to say we are taking the game there, but that’s not the case.
“Secondly we need to consider the support – where can we find the most supporters to watch the game.
“We always play away from Mdantsane, hence I’m sceptical of taking the game to Sisa. And then there’s the issue of the capacity of the three venues.
“In Mthatha, the stadium is not as big as we would have loved it to be, but the support that side is always amazing. People in that region attend football games in their numbers, so there might be overcrowding there.
“The last option is BCM Stadium, but we need to check what’s happening with the local rugby programme. Because in terms of meeting the PSL standards that stadium is tops.
“So those are the three possible venues, and on Tuesday I want to start engaging the BCM because the stadiums are under the municipality, before going to another region [O R Tambo].”
He said that when it was announced on Thursday in Johannesburg that they would host the Glamour Boys they all jumped off their seats with jubilation.
“I want our young boys to see that if they come to Tornado they will gain something, and I want to have at least four to five players from Mdantsane in the starting line-up for the game.
“Because we need to motivate our local boys who want to play professionally to see they also can compete against the top clubs and not see it as a far away dream.
“We all know once our boys go to initiation school they leave football and they start to focus on bad things.
“And for most of our boys it’s been a dream to play against a big team like Kaizer Chiefs, to be seen on television taking on the best players in the country.”
Meanwhile, the professional football team in the province, Chippa United, will host Mamelodi Sundowns, and all the venues and dates for the Nedbank Cup last 32 stage will be announced by the PSL in due course.
Nedbank Cup Last 32 draw Cape Town City v SuperSport United, Umvoti v TS Galaxy, Bidvest Wits v Boyne Tigers, Chippa United v Mamelodi Sundowns, AmaZulu v Highlands Park, Tjakastad Junior Shepherds v Lamontville Golden Arrows, Baroka v Jomo Cosmos, Maccabi v The Magic, Witbank Spurs v Maritzburg United, Free State Stars v Richards Bay, Super Eagles v Bloemfontein Celtic, Polokwane City v Tshakhuma, Black Leopards v Orlando Pirates, Cape Umoya United v Tshwane University of Technology, Mbombela United v NC Professionals, Tornado v Kaizer Chiefs.
We always play away from Mdantsane, hence I’m sceptical of taking the game to Sisa. And then there’s the issue of the capacity of the three venues