MTN8 Final Ticket Controversy: Open Tickets Responds to KZN Fans
- KwaZulu-Natal residents questioned whether they had a fair chance to secure tickets for the sold-out MTN8 final
- Open Tickets has addressed the allegations and pointed to buyer statistics from the online sales
- The ticketing process also faced technical difficulties as demand surged on the day sales opened
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Open Tickets chief executive Marnus van Niekerk has rejected allegations that KwaZulu-Natal supporters were deliberately disadvantaged when buying tickets for the 2026 MTN8 final.
The clarification comes after tickets sold out on Friday, 2 October, leaving some fans unable to secure seats for Saturday’s showdown between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
In comments reported by iDiski Times, Van Niekerk insisted that neither the league, the sponsor nor the ticketing company tried to influence who purchased tickets.
“There is a narrative that people from KZN didn’t get a fair opportunity to buy tickets. I can absolutely say that is not true,” he said.
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MTN8 ticket sales data puts KZN supporters in focus
Van Niekerk said the online queuing system gave supporters an equal opportunity to purchase tickets. He also pointed to sales figures indicating that KwaZulu-Natal residents accounted for almost 60% of buyers.
“Nearly 60% of the tickets that were sold were sold to people in KZN. Obviously, Gauteng is second on the list,” he explained.
He added that they made no effort to control who could buy tickets, dismissing claims that local supporters were excluded in favour of visitors from other provinces.
Online ticketing problems frustrate football fans
The tickets were sold exclusively online, but heavy demand caused the platform to crash shortly after sales opened. Although the system recovered, some supporters reportedly waited for hours without managing to complete their purchases.
The problems prompted comparisons with the 2025 Nedbank Cup final between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, also staged in Durban.
The Premier Soccer League confirmed on 2 October that the MTN8 final was sold out. The match is scheduled for Saturday, 10 October, at 18:00.
With the final approaching, Van Niekerk’s comments provide the ticketing company’s response to the controversy. However, the reported sales figures do not establish how many individual supporters attempted to buy tickets but were unsuccessful.
Miguel Cardoso makes referee wish ahead of MTN8 final
Briefly News also reported that Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has called for a strong refereeing performance ahead of the MTN8 final against Orlando Pirates.
Speaking at an open media day on Wednesday, 7 October, Cardoso said he wanted the officials to deliver a performance worthy of the occasion.
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Source: Briefly News
