Orlando Pirates Legend Siyabonga Sangweni Is Humbled After a R47 Million Stadium Was Named After Him

Orlando Pirates Legend Siyabonga Sangweni Is Humbled After a R47 Million Stadium Was Named After Him

  • A new R47 million stadium in Natal was named after Orlando Pirates Siyabonga Sangweni after its unveiling on Saturday, 18 May 2024
  • Sangweni, who played 79 matches for Pirates from 2011 to 2016, said he felt honoured to see his name on the new stadium
  • Local football fans took to social media to question the costs of the stadium named after the former Pirates and Bafana defender

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Orlando Pirates Siyabonga Sangweni was honoured by the Kwa-Zulu Natal province.
Orlando Pirates legend Siyabonga Sangweni had an R47 million stadium named after him. Image: Lefty Shivmabu/Gallo Images and Steve Haag
Source: Getty Images

On Saturday, May 18, 2024, the Kwa-Zulu Natal provincial leaders named a new R47 million stadium after Orlando Pirates legend Siyabonga Sangweni.

The stadium in Dondotha, named after the Pirates legend, will serve as a breeding ground for young talent in the area while the Bucs prepare to battle for the R7 million Nedbank Cup prize.

Siyabonga Sangweni is honoured

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The announcement of the new stadium was confirmed in the Instagram post below:

Speaking to FARPost, Sangewni, who played 29 games for Bafana, said he felt honoured that the field he once used to hone his skills received the upgrade.

Sangewni said:

"This makes me happy because even when I'm gone, they will always remember that there was someone like Sangweni. "I think this is the first time in King Cetshwayo that such a facility has been built, so it makes me happy. I'm even happy for the people of this place because they will benefit from this."

Fans questioned the cost of the stadium

Local football fans took to social media, saying they were doubtful of the new stadium's cost. In a separate story, Safa has earmarked a new venue in the Northern Cape.

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Nkosiyaphar Yaphar questions the cost:

"That's too much!!"

Siviwe Mkumbuzi has his doubts:

"This is not a stadium."

Sibandile Sibandile is a fan:

"Beautiful indeed."

Mnto-black Mntomnyama admires Sangweni:

"Legendary."

Ubuhle'BeDamu Khulabejola Mbiko enjoyed the inaugural match:

"The only final to celebrate."

Bafana make a return to Free State

As reported by Briefly News, Bafana will play their first match in the Free State since 2010 when they host Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, 11 June 2024.

Fans were happy to hear Bafana would return to the province for the match against Zimbabwe, and they backed the national side to walk away with three points.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Junior Bester avatar

Junior Bester (Editor) Junior Bester is the current Entertainment (Sports) Writer at Briefly News. He achieved a ND:Journalism at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2012. He worked for Independent Newspapers from 2011 till 2022 covering news, sport, business and entertainment for titles such as Weekend Argus, Cape Argus, Daily Voice and Northern News. Junior passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. He joined Briefly News in 2024. You can reach him at junior.bester@briefly.co.za