Johannesburg - South Africa's World Cup stadiums are considered "too big" to stage MTN8 Cup matches, fueling fears the venues could become "white elephants".

The tournament, which features the top-eight finishers from last season, kicks off next Friday and notably no games are scheduled for the 10 arenas that staged the recent World Cup.

PSL chief, Kjetil Siem, admits this is because the domestic competition cannot attract large enough crowds.

"FNB Stadium, for example, is just too big to have teams like Pirates and Santos play there," he said on the Times Live website.

"Running the league is also a business and we have to make a fair amount of money from the gate takings.

"It is better when the stadiums are full," he added.

Of the ten World Cup venues, FNB (Joburg), Peter Mokaba (Polokwane), Mbombela (Nelspruit) and Nelson Mandela Bay (PE) have not been assigned any PSL matches, while Ellis Park, Loftus and Free State Stadium are primarily rugby arenas.

Mamelodi Sundowns will open this year's MTN8 when they travel to Athlone Stadium to tackle Ajax Cape Town in the Mother City.