Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena has revealed how the club is working around the clock to secure a temporary home venue.
The Loftus Versfeld Stadium, which is the regular venue used by the defending champions, is currently going through renovations.
There has been wide speculation on where the club will take their DStv Premiership clash against Kaizer Chiefs next week. The Mbombela and Lucas Moripe Stadiums have been mentioned as venues that the club has earmarked.
Masandawana will start their 2023/24 campaign away to Sekhukhune United at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday evening.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS SWEATING OVER A TEMPORARY VENUE
Speaking to the Game On sports show on Radio 2000, Mokwena admitted the venue issue had become a headache.
“It’s a big headache that is keeping us up at night,” he said.
“But there is a lot of work around the football club. Especially with the senior management getting extensively involved in that space. We are trying to make sure that, at least with our home games, we have the best football surface.
“So again, we are very delighted that there is that replacement of the pitch at Loftus. We have a short-term dilemma.
“But a lot of work is being done. We are trying to see whether we can get Lucas Moripe approved. The club can’t host category A games at Tuks, which is the third stadium that we registered,” added Mokwena.
WHY FNB STADIUM WAS ONE OF THE OPTIONS
“So we have had to explore different options, we have explored the use of FNB because we played there two seasons ago against Petro [de Luanda] in the quarterfinals.
“But because of their contractual agreements and that relationship with Kaizer Chiefs, we were not able to do that with no other possibilities of using both Polokwane and Mbombela as our home ground,” he said.
WHY RULANI MOKWENA WANTS MASANDAWANA TO REMAIN IN PRETORIA
“Sundowns is a team from Pretoria, which respects and appreciates our fans, and we value their presence at the games,” he said.
“So we will try to prioritize playing our home games at Lucas Moripe. Try to assist in getting the municipality involved and also, from a club perspective to address some of the concerns that the PSL has about the stadium.
“Then of course, we can get it approved before the game next week. But there is a lot of hard work being done by the club,” he concluded.
Some of the issues raised about the Lucas Moripe Stadium include the ablution, the tunnel, lights as well as the gates.
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