Caps United incurred a massive loss of revenue due to a porous and slow payment system at the gates as some of the fans gained free entry, while many more returned home at Sunday’s big Harare derby against Dynamos at the National Sports Stadium.
BY KEVIN MAPASURE
While Caps grossed $96 000 from the match, they could have got much more, but some of the fans found ways of gaining free entry using mobile money confirmation messages, with a lot of fans, disgruntled at the slow pace at which the queues were moving, returning home to watch the match on television.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL), through spokesperson Kudzai Bare, yesterday confirmed that a lot of revenue was lost, adding that the organisation would seek to improve the payment systems ahead of another blockbuster clash this weekend featuring Dynamos and Highlanders at Rufaro Stadium.
“We apologise to the fans that were inconvenienced by the point-of-sale system (commonly referred to as swiping),” she said. “The network was going up and down. But most of the fans came in with cash. The problem we had is that we had only 20 gates open, instead of 32.
“We had fans coming in in large numbers towards kick-off and there was a request to delay the start of the match. It was not possible because the television signal had already been received. We are aware that some fans had go back home because we had people still paying by half-time.”
Bare admitted that some fans gained entry by scaling the perimeter fence, but the police managed to get on top of the situation.
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NewsDay Sport understands that at the mobile money payment points, one person would make payment and gain entry, after which they would pass on the phone to another person to use the same confirmation message, such that a lot of potential revenue was lost.
The PSL is considering other options like advance tickets for matches of such magnitude.
The cheapest ticket for the Caps United-Dynamos match was pegged at $5 while the VVIP ticket cost $20.
About 18 000 fans paid their way into the stadium although there were clearly more inside.
Of the $96 000 that Caps United collected at the gates, $33 000 went to levies, while more will be gobbled up by other service providers such as the police.
Dynamos still have an outstanding match against Caps United and they might have been watching closely to learn how they can avoid leakages.
