PSL announces the date of the MTN8 final but finding the match venue still a challenge

The MTN8 final between Cape Town City and SuperSport United will be played on Saturday‚ October 14‚ the Premier Soccer League confirmed on Monday.

But the venue will only be announced on Thursday.

Senior management and PSL executive committee members were scheduled to huddle on Monday and Tuesday to thrash out potential venues for what one called “a challenging match”.

It is a game featuring two clubs with smallish support and so to avoid the possibility of a near-empty stadium for a showpiece fixture‚ the PSL will have to show some creative thinking over the next few days as to where they plan to fixture the final.

Obvious neutral choices are the World Cup stadia in Bloemfontein‚ Durban‚ Nelspruit‚ Polokwane and Port Elizabeth.

But these venues could prove far too big for the expected turnout and large swathes of empty seats could embarrass the league and sponsors MTN.

Instead‚ the PSL might be tempted to look at smaller alternatives like Kimberley or East London‚ especially the Siza Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane‚ which has provided enthusiastic crowds for matches involving Chippa United over the last nine months.

A neutral venue is the preferred choice although it is not strictly written into the rules.

While a final in the Mother City featuring Benni McCarthy and his Cape Town City team would ensure a large turnout‚ SuperSport would presumably be livid with such an idea and find it grossly prejudicial to their chances.

The PSL’s spokesman Luxolo September confirmed to TIMESLive on Monday that neutral venues of the final were not written in the rules but added “the convention of playing the final at a neutral venue has been adopted almost as a rule and it is based on fair play principles”.

The PSL will announce the venue either by a press release or on a television show on SuperSport on Thursday. - TimesLIVE