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SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao has explained that the association had approached other provinces to host the recent international friendlies but none put up a letter of commitment to help cover the costs.
Bafana Bafana hosted Namibia and DR Congo at Orlando Stadium during this recent window, collecting a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win, respectively.
However, many seats at Orlando Stadium were left empty, leading many fans and neutrals to question why SAFA are not taking any games to other provinces.
Monyepao explained that the games were offered to other provinces, but none wanted to commit, which would’ve also meant sharing some of the additional travel costs to leave Gauteng.
“There are various reasons,” she told Thabiso Mosia on Radio2000.
“I think overall there is also fatigue because people are complaining that we are playing a lot of our games in Gauteng.
“I can assure you that we had approached quote a number of provinces to host us for these two games, because we know that people in Free State are really interested, we know the people in Cape Town, [too].
“We approached the City of Cape Town but they told us the stadium is still under renovation, so they couldn’t host us.
“We approached KwaZulu-Natal, they had other games happening. The other provinces didn’t really come back to us in terms of the hosting because we knew that a lot of them talk about hosting us, but if they don’t put the letter of commitment on the table, it makes it a little bit difficult for us as association to leave the [Gauteng] province.
“Because the costs kind of double once you leave Johannesburg. No one was willing to take the game.
“I must thank the Gauteng province, the premier Panyaza Lesufi has always put up his hand whenever we’ve looked for a host, to say that he’s wiling to host us here.
“But obviously we want to rotate the games. It’s a national team, everyone wants to see the national team. But it’s about the provinces coming on board with a letter of commitment to assist us with some of the costs that we are faced [with].
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“So that we can leave the province and people in other provinces can see Bafana play and Banyana as well.”
Monyepao also admitted that the association didn’t focus enough on marketing the recent two games, but they will appoint a Commercial & Marketing Manager, whose job it will be to help market the games for Bafana and Banyana.
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