Chippa apply for Pirates game to be played in Buffalo City

Chippa United have applied to the Premier Soccer League for their Orlando Pirates home league fixture in March to be moved from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to the Buffalo City Stadium.

The Eastern Cape side filed to play six home matches in East London, against Richards Bay, Magesi, Cape Town City, Marumo Gallants, Sekhuhune United and AmaZulu, as per the 2024/2025 fixtures submitted earlier in the season,

That list was also one match short of their agreement with the Buffalo City municipality which requires the club to bring seven of their 15 home league games to East London.

The Pirates game on March 5 was set to complete the BCM remuneration which would see the city cough up R1.2m for a match and R8.4m for the seven as a whole, the club’s executive director, Lukhanyo Mzinzi, told the Dispatch.

“The chair [Siviwe Mpengesi] has submitted the Pirates game as one of the games for 2025 to be played in East London,” he said. 

After Kaizer Chiefs travelled to the city in April, Mpengesi said he was planning on rotating games featuring the Soweto giants between Gqeberha and East London.

But that depends on getting the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s approval.

The Bay’s sports political head, Bassie Kamana, argued then that the marquee games which included Mamelodi Sundowns, Chiefs and Pirates were supposed to be held in Gqeberha as per their contractual agreement.

Mzinzi said they would confirm once everything was finalised, but their proposal remained with the PSL.

Attempts to get comment from the PSL were unsuccessful by the time of publication. 

Should Chippa’s application be granted by the PSL and Pirates co-operate on the venue change, it will be the first time the Buccaneers visit the city since their Nedbank Cup round of 32 encounter against the EC Bees in 2017. 

Mzinzi said the Pirates game was not the only matter they were awaiting word on from the PSL, the issue of the Buffalo City Stadium approval being second on the agenda. 

In September, the club announced that extreme weather had caused significant damage to the drainage system at the Buffalo City Stadium, compromising the quality of the field.

“We have written to the PSL for their official, Prof Ronnie Schloss, to come and look at the field now after we have fixed the issues that had hindered us from hosting games there,” Mzinzi said.

“We are confident that things will go well and the people of East London will get quality football again.”

Chippa are in sixth place in the Betway Premiership standings and are scheduled to play Magesi on November 30 and Cape Town City on December 14 in East London after the international window.

Earlier in the week, Chippa withdrew from the inaugural Home of Legends Cup tournament, which was set to keep the team in action until the league resumes at month’s end.

The one-day tournament is set for November 16 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and features Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Lamontville Golden Arrows, with Cape Town City joining the other three teams after Chippa’s withdrawal.

After their withdrawal email, Chippa issued a statement expressing their displeasure with the distribution of funds and the actions of Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency chief executive Anele Qaba.

In the statement, Mzinzi said Chiefs, Arrows and Sundowns had been offered fair compensation for participation, but Chippa United had not been offered the same participation fee. 

He questioned the agency’s decision to allocate millions of the metro’s funds for the one-day event, saying it raised significant questions about the priorities of its leadership.

“Rather than investing in sustainable infrastructure, such as renovating facilities like the Isaac Wolfson Stadium which currently does not meet PSL standards and would benefit the entire Gqeberha community, monies are instead being directed towards a brief tournament where visiting teams are unlikely to field their strongest squads,” Mzinzi said.

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