PSL
Soweto Derby goes global
2013-03-08 08:58
Johannesburg - Saturday’s Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates has attracted interest from all over the world, with several countries set to broadcast the South African showpiece globally.
According to the
soccerladuma.co.za website, the derby, on March 9, at the FNB Stadium is set to be one of the most important of recent times, with the two teams involved occupying first and second place in the Absa Premiership, and the importance of the fixture has not gone unnoticed.
According to the host broadcaster, SuperSport, the derby will be available in 23.5 million households throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, as well as another 83 million household in America.
SuperSport also explained that the game will be shown throughout the Middle East, South East Asia and North Africa, while ESPN TV will make the match available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.
Happy Ntshingila, the CEO of the broadcasting company, said, “Every day we receive new requests for the feed from around the world. Whereas last year peaked the overseas interest, I believe this year is a demonstration of their satisfaction with the event, which is a television spectacular. We’ll pull out all stops to make it a high-quality broadcast.”
Meanwhile acting PSL CEO, Cambridge Mokanyane, says that it’s good news for the whole league.
He said, “In the last few days, we have been working closely with both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to prepare finer details for the Absa Premiership Soweto derby. In SuperSport, we have broadcast partners who have delivered world-class quality productions to the viewers and now they will be the vehicle making this derby accessible to the rest of the world. This is a major boost for both the PSL and SuperSport and confirms the confidence that the rest of the world has in these two international brands.”
Chiefs and Pirates will lock horns at 15:30 on Saturday as the former attempts to increase their lead at the top of the table and the latter tries to gain ground on their fierce rivals.