Derby Drama: 10,000 PSL tickets refunded
Here’s the wild story behind the Nedbank Cup final ticket drama!
You know you’re in South Africa when even buying a soccer ticket turns into a dramatic showdown.
The build-up to this Saturday’s Nedbank Cup Final at Moses Mabhida stadium has been nothing short of a telenovela.
Two of the country’s biggest football clubs, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, are squaring off in a Soweto Derby final.
Naturally, every soccer fan with a pulse wanted in.
Sadly… technology said “not today!”
At exactly 10AM on Monday, tickets went live on Open Tickets.
By 10:15AM, the system did what most of us do when things get overwhelming - it crashed.
Completely. Gone. Kaput. Fans clicked “buy now” only to be met with spinning wheels and error messages.
Some poor souls tried multiple times, hoping for a miracle, only to end up with no tickets, five pending transactions, and a mild existential crisis.
In a panic, Computicket was roped in to help. However, because sales updates weren’t happening live, this ended up overselling the stadium’s 41,000 reduced capacity.
By how much, you ask? Oh, just a casual 10,512 extra tickets. No biggie.
The result? A digital stampede for the ages.
Computicket sent out thousands of refund emails - urging fans to wait 58 hours. Netizens went wild with the Twitter rants.
Some of us even received WhatsApp messages from our uncles claiming he knows “a guy”.
It’s a classic South African tale.
Stadium Management SA’s managing director, Bertie Grobbelaar, held a press conference to set the record straight.
He revealed that a total of 51,512 tickets were sold, with Shoprite and Checkers retail outlets accounting for 4,956 tickets, Open Tickets selling 2,435, and Computicket leading the sales with 44,121 tickets.
[WATCH] Stadium Management SA managing director Bertie Grobbelaar says the 41 000 general tickets that were up for sale for the Nedbank Cup final were sold out within 90 minutes after being made available. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/IzARt066aT
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 7, 2025
Thankfully, PSL officials have since confirmed that everyone with a valid ticket (digital or hard copy) will still get to attend.
10,512 overenthusiastic ticket holders will get their money back, and no, there are no more tickets on sale.
So please - stop asking your cousin’s girlfriend’s brother who “works in security.”
ALSO READ: Hippo horror: St Lucia tourist cheats death
The moral of the story? Well, next time the Soweto Derby final heads to Durban… maybe our ticket providers should give the IT department a heads up.
Anyways - if your ancestors were on your side and you managed to get a ticket, kudos to you!
To the rest of us, sadly we’ll be watching from the comfort of our homes.
May the best team win!
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