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Orlando Pirates have explained the decision behind moving their CAF Champions League first leg, semifinal fixture against Pyramids, from Orlando Stadium to FNB Stadium.
As it has always been a norm during the Easter Weekend, Pirates make way at their match venue for Church services that take place during the holy weekend, and the club’s media officer, Thandi Merafe, says this coming weekend is not an exception.
Contrary to misguided reports in North Africa about this move, which are linked to last weekend’s post-match violence started by the Algerian side MC Alger, Merafe has more on this change of venue.
"We obviously always want to play at home, we are a very spiritual club, like you said and we believe in our ancestors and we believe that our ancestors are at Orlando but we also understand that to be here for as long as we have been, to be a brand of this magnitude, you need to understand your environment,” Merafe said.
“You need to be in tune with your surroundings and what's happening around you and right now it's a holy time for all Christians, it's the Easter weekend.
“We know there's a church service that's gonna be happening at Orlando, it happens every year. Of course, we can always say no, it's our home ground, we want to play there with the team, but that would be disrespectful to so many other things.
“One thing the chairman has taught us is to always be respectful, which brings us now to FNB Stadium."
It’s not the first time Pirates have moved a home game to FNB Stadium during this time of the year.
Merafe says this is an opportunity for the club to make the first leg very exciting for everyone.
"It's an opportunity to create history here at FNB Stadium, have a CAF Champions League semi-final at this venue and have Amabhakhaniya come through and join the spectacle of football,” she added.
“Watch this amazing team that was at the beginning of the competition of the CAF Champions League, everyone was talking about how inexperienced this group of players are but they proved their worth, they proved that it's not necessarily about experience but it's about wanting it.
“Like I said earlier, we approach each and every match, each and every event on its own merit, we respect the opposition, we respect the occasion and we plan for it accordingly.
Because of the wonderful technical team we have led by Jose Riveiro, because of the wonderful calibre of players we have and the foresight and the vision of our management as well as the Bucs faithful, the supporters that bring it all together, we are able to see ourselves in a history-making season."
