The opening hours of ticket sales for the MTN8 final between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, scheduled for Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, October 10, descended into chaos after the website of the ticket distributor, Open Tickets, experienced a widespread system outage.
After the PSL, together with sponsors MTN, finally announced Moses Mabhida as the host venue for the final on Monday, supporters of both clubs and neutrals alike set their sights on securing tickets as soon as sales opened on Friday at 10:00. After all, this is one of the most anticipated encounters in the local sporting calendar, given the rivalry that has intensified between the two clubs in recent years.
However, the purchasing process was far from seamless on the ticket distributor’s official website, with most users greeted by hefty numbers in an online queue, server errors, or broken checkout sessions.
Fans have since taken their frustrations to social media, with some suggesting they have lost interest in attending the match in person, particularly after the PSL and MTN waited a month to announce the venue despite knowing the calibre of the teams and their massive support bases.
Open Tickets issued a statement explaining the reasons for the delays:
“We know that you are excited to watch this highly anticipated match,” the statement read. “Due to the exceptionally high demand for this match, an automated queuing system is currently active to manage server traffic and ensure fair ticket distribution.
“Please stay in the queue; closing or refreshing this page may cause you to lose your spot.”
Pirates subsequently posted on their social media platforms to advise supporters that the website was operational and actively processing purchases.
Tickets for the match are strictly digital, priced at R150 each, with individual purchases limited to a maximum of four tickets.
This is a developing story…
