Left field

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Soccer City a white elephant? 90,000 say otherwise

Since July’s World Cup final, which attracted an official attendance of 84 490, the crowds at Johannesburg’s Soccer City have been getting bigger and bigger.

On Saturday the attendance record was beaten again when South Africa hosted its League Cup final at the venue.

Conveniently the match was between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, the two best supported teams in the country whose intense rivalry has been enhanced by several additional, and unexpected, cup meetings in the recent months.

Over 90,000 braved traffic problems to turn up and see the Chiefs triumph 3-0, trumping the 88,791 that watched the August rugby test when New Zealand’s All Blacks beat the Springbok in a Tri-Nations match at the gigantic stadium.

Rugby-mad South Africa not so mad about the Lions

Mitch Phillips

Jun 26, 2009 16:11 UTC

Tough economic times and possibly just too much rugby have combined to produce the unthinkable in South Africa — empty seats for test matches against the British and Irish Lions.

After the early provincial games were played in half-full stadiums, local officials were forced to give away tickets in a bid to bump up the numbers and build a bit of atmosphere.