Chronicle Editor
KAIZER Chiefs and Orlando Pirates supporters do not appear to have heeded Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi’s appeal to South Africans to boycott sporting events associated with Vodacom after it emerged yesterday that there are only 5 000 tickets left on sale for Saturday’s Soweto derby.
Chiefs’ communications manager Vina Maphosa revealed that there are only a few tickets left and he urged supporters who wish to view the match in the stadium to make their purchases quickly‚ as they would soon be sold out.
“There are less than (5 000) tickets left. They have been selling at about 3 000 a day…. we expect they may be sold out by tomorrow (today)‚” Maphosa said yesterday morning.
“Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom have been embroiled in lengthy settlement negotiations and the long-running battle reached boiling point after negotiations between the two parties stalled last month.
Social media went into frenzy and Lesufi and the “Please Call Me movement” threw their support behind Makate‚ demanding he be paid fair compensation for developing the product in November 2000.
Lesufi said at the time activists‚ including himself‚ were willing to lobby the government and government institutions to cancel contracts associated with Vodacom.
Vodacom sponsors both Chiefs and Pirates.
“We are also calling on South Africans not to attend all Vodacom-sponsored activities‚ it can be sporting activities‚ racing activities‚ it can be any activity that is supported or the participants are sponsored by Vodacom‚” Lesufi said last month.
“We are also calling on our people to immediately terminate their contracts with Vodacom so that Vodacom can understand that they have indeed angered society.”
The previous derby was in the Telkom Knockout semi-finals held in Durban due to a previously scheduled prayer meeting at FNB.
That derby sold out within hours of the tickets going on sale.
Chiefs are in sixth place in the PSL going into Saturday’s home clash against Pirates, who are second on the league table.
— SowetanLive.
Online Reporter