Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium to host MTN8 final without hosting fee

eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba says the municipality will not pay the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to stage the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The Durban venue was confirmed on Monday as the host for the match between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, which will take place on October 10 at 6pm.

It will be the eighth time in the past 10 editions that Moses Mabhida Stadium has staged the MTN8 final. Xaba said the venue’s regular selection reflected KwaZulu-Natal’s appeal as a tourist destination rather than any financial arrangement with the PSL.

“They just want to come here. We don’t do anything like pay for the matches. We don’t do that. People love Durban because of the electric atmosphere they find here,” Xaba said.

“We are a tourism attraction of choice and MTN knows they are likely to market their brand well. We are one of the big metros, accommodation establishments are here and there is a lot of tourism endowment, such as beaches and the ubuntu of the people.”

Xaba said the municipality’s contribution would instead be focused on maintaining the city and supporting businesses involved in tourism.

“There will be no need for us to pay, except to produce what we have by spending money on getting our beaches clean, ensuring we support our tourist establishments and all role players in the value chain,” he added.

“This will be the launch pad for our festive season.”

Pitch preparations affected 2026-27 fixtures

eThekwini executive director of community services Vusi Mazibuko said Moses Mabhida Stadium’s limited availability during the 2026-27 domestic season was linked to work being carried out to ensure the pitch was ready for the final.

“On the issue of readiness, the reason Moses Mabhida has not been available is that there is work being done here,” Mazibuko said.

He explained that stadium authorities had been selective about the matches hosted there, allowing King’s Park across the road to stage fixtures which would normally have taken place at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

“The stadium management had a plan that they want to host finals and they have been planning to host this final. Part of that plan included what will be allowed on the pitch so if the announcement is made it must favour the stadium,” he said.

Mazibuko said the surface deteriorated after rain during Durban City’s 1-0 Caf Confederation Cup preliminary round victory against Burundi’s Rukinzo FC on September 6.

“Part of that requirement will be readiness of the pitch. When the Durban City match happened, unfortunately it rained and the pitch deteriorated,” he said.

He added that the necessary work, as well as other events planned between the match and the final announcement, had to be rearranged.

“Hence a Golden Arrows match could not be taken in anticipation that if we get the final, we must be ready. Those were strategic decisions that were taken in preparation for the announcement to favour us.”