Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has voiced his dissatisfaction following the decision by Polokwane City FC to host their midweek Betway Premiership encounter at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Despite the Buccaneers grinding out a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Rise and Shine on Wednesday night in Polokwane to maintain their residence at the summit of the log, the venue choice remained a significant talking point.
Ouaddou questioned the logic of hosting a fixture involving one of the league’s biggest drawcards at a facility with a modest capacity of only 15,000 spectators.
While the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium serves as the primary home ground for Polokwane City, the world-class New Peter Mokaba Stadium—a 2010 FIFA World Cup venue capable of seating 45,500 fans—is frequently utilised as an alternative for high-profile matches.
ABDESLAM OUDDOU QUESTIONS DECISION TO TAKE BETWAY PREMIERSHIP MATCH TO OLD STADIUM
Following the final whistle on Wednesday, Ouaddou voiced his frustrations regarding the match-day arrangements, questioning why the decision was made to take the game to the smaller Old Peter Mokaba Stadium. He stated that he was disappointed by the move, emphasising that for a club of Pirates’ stature, the infrastructure and venue capacity should always match the significance of the Premiership title race.
“The only thing that I can say is that it’s a bit disappointing not to play in a fantastic stadium [New Peter Mokaba] next to this one because the PSL is the best league in Africa,” he said.
“I think when we play such a professional game, we need to put the players in the right condition because tonight [Wednesday] the pitch didn’t allow us to play properly. We could have had injuries as well, and I don’t think that’s good for football. It’s not good for fans as well because fans want to see nice football. But the pitch didn’t allow us to play good football.”
ORLANDO PIRATES COACH SATISFIED WITH POLOKWANE MISSION
Despite his vocal frustrations regarding the choice of venue at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, Ouaddou cut a satisfied figure when reflecting on the primary objective of the trip to Limpopo.
“Look, we came here in Polokwane to take three points, it was the target if we want to keep this ambition [of winning the league]. It’s something we have done, and congratulations to the boys.
“It was not an easy game, especially when we know that every time you come to Polokwane, there is a strong side. In terms of physicality, they [PLK City] are a very strong team. They play direct football and are very compact.”
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