In a creative bid to keep World Cup fever going, the Cape Town Stadium will stage a double header on the first night of the Absa Premiership season this month.

The games on August 27 will feature a baptism of fire for newcomers to the elite league, Vasco Da Gama, who will take on Orlando Pirates at 6pm. This will be followed by a clash between Ajax Cape Town and Bloemfontein Celtic at 8.45pm.

Ajax chairman John Comitis sees Friday night football fever as a perfect way to keep the Cape Town Stadium viable. The stadium was constructed at a cost of R4.4-billion.

"We have a responsibility as clubs in the Cape to make the stadium work. Everybody has come to the party.

"If we want all those throngs of fans who attended World Cup games to come back, the way to go is double headers on Friday night. All things being equal, this concept will make a huge difference in crowd attendances in Cape Town. I am confident we will be able to attract about 40000 people," said Comitis.

The Cape Town Stadium had a 68000 capacity for the World Cup but this will be reduced to 58000.

Comitis says all parties will contribute to the costs.

"Everybody will contribute and that includes the stadium management, the city and the clubs," said Comitis. " The idea is not to worry much about the rands and cents. The focus is on making the stadium work and showing people what South African soccer can achieve."

The Cape Town initiative has the blessing of the Premier Soccer League, which revised the fixture list to accommodate it.

"This idea was a result of a working arrangement between the four teams, the city council and stadium management," said PSL chief operations officer Ronnie Schloss.

Schloss suggested that double-header fever could spread to other provinces in a concerted effort to prevent the stadiums becoming white elephants.

The Peter Mokaba and the Mbombela Stadiums, in Lim-popo and Mpumalanga respectively, are in greater danger of being under-utilised.

Mpumalanga Black Aces, the only Premiership outfit in Mpumalanga, has opted to play at the Puma Rugby Stadium. There is no top-division team in Limpopo.

"We will be adopting the same approach in assisting the other stadiums. It is in the interest of all involved in South African football to see the stadiums survive," said Schloss.

It is not all doom and gloom for Mbombela, though. The Sunday Times has learnt that Bidvest Wits and Moroka Swallows are talking to authorities in Mpumalanga with a view to the Students and the Beautiful Birds staging some matches at the Mbombela Stadium.

Schloss said the PSL cannot dictate where teams play.

"It is up to each team to decide where they want to play. We can't force them. We will assist wherever we can but the bottom line is that it is the team's call. Our only involvement is to ensure that the facility they choose meets our requirements."

Staging double headers on Friday nights leaves a window of opportunity for Western Province rugby to revise their reluctant stance of moving from their traditional home of Newlands Stadium to the new venue and possibly playing Saturday matches at Cape Town Stadium.