Chippa get home game lift at start of season
CHIPPA United have been handed a favourable draw and will start this season’s Premier Soccer League campaign with a game against Free State Stars at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Tuesday August 23 (kickoff 7.30pm).
The PSL announced the fixtures yesterday, and the Chilli Boys have three home games in their first five matches.
After playing Stars in the opener, they will travel to SuperSport United and then head back home to host Bloemfontein Celtic and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Their fifth game is against the newly-promoted Baroka FC at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Chippa coach Dan “Dance” Malesela’s troops will only face Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs towards the end of the year.
They take on Orlando Pirates in November and Kaizer Chiefs in December.
Both of those games will be played at Nelson Mandela Stadium.
The Port Elizabeth side had an impressive run in the league last season, finishing sixth on the log and booking themselves a spot in the MTN Top 8 competition, which will take place this month.
Having roped in new players this season, such as former Kaizer Chiefs striker Bongani Ndulula, Marc van Heerden (AmaZulu) and Baroka FC goalkeeper Veli Muthwa, to name but a few, Chippa will be out to do even better in the new season.
Although the PSL fixture list states all Chippa’s home games will be played at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, the club’s head of communication and team manager Luthando Zibeko said Buffalo City Stadium in East London would be used as the team’s alternate home venue.
“There will be games played in East London. We are still in negotiations and also consulting with our technical team, stakeholders . . . and Nelson Mandela Bay municipality, to see which games to take to East London.
“Once that is done and it has been approved, we will announce which games will be going that side.”
During an interview with a radio station, Chippa’s chairman Siviwe Mpengesi said the team would play six of their home games in East London.
“We only played four of our matches last season in East London. We were meant to take five games there. But this season we are taking six games to East London,” Mpengesi said.
Zibeko asked Chippa United supporters to come out in large numbers for their home games. “This is a season of growth for us. We are looking at growing numbers in terms of the attendance figures.”