Ramaphosa’s visit sparks crucial soccer safety talks

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is arguably one of those head of states who does not command a lot of respect and authority from his people.

More often than not, he is accused of being indecisive and faltering. His trademark Colgate grin, goofy dancing moves and “daddy jokes” are always enough to send his detractors into a state of annoyance.

His seemingly lackadaisical attitude towards matters of national importance, such as the issue of undocumented and illegal foreign nationals and the harrowing matter of gender-based violence and femicide has not endeared him to the millions of people in the Rainbow Nation.

Citizens often see him as aloof, detached and devoid of a clear standpoint.

But this week, Ramaphosa did something out of the ordinary and he probably is not even aware of it.

He dropped by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) offices in Parktown to pay them a visit.

While he was primarily there to praise the league as the best-organised and most successful football setup on the continent, one of the most critical developments to come out of the visit was that PSL chairperson Irvin Khoza finally addressed the issue of the Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, which has become a ticking time bomb.

Ramaphosa commended the massive societal impact and international stature of the popular event which took place over the preceding weekend.

Of course, on a good day, the president can be a charming politician and the visit conveniently occurred just two days before the 2026 Local Government Elections on Wednesday.

The number-one citizen seized the platform to encourage football supporters to exercise their democratic right and participate in the voting.

“My visit here, as it has been courteous, has also been just to pay tribute to the PSL for what they have achieved,” Ramaphosa told journalists.

“Seventy-seven percent of South Africans who love sport are supporters of football and thereafter there’s rugby, but football has always been the top sport.

“For me, it was to come and pay tribute to them and to thank them for being the best-organised league and bringing happiness to our people by the way in which they run the league.

“They [PSL] are the best-organised league on the continent and run the most popular sport code, which is football. He [Irvin Khoza] was showing me the Nielsen measurements. He says that their business is a happiness index that deals in the happiness of people,” he said.

Khoza called on people to exercise their right to vote: “All the clubs of the PSL, all the clubs, we are asking you and the supporters to go and vote in numbers. It will be most appreciated and make this a successful and exciting election.”

After various calls for the league to intervene fell on death ears, the “Iron Duke” is finally engaging and demanding answers on how thousands of supporters were locked out of the FNB Stadium last Saturday and why there is always chaos and disarray when it is football, whereas there is order during rugby matches at FNB.

All the Soweto derby matches since February last year have been characterised by anarchy.

Public appetite for the fixture has grown incredibly and tickets sell out in a matter of hours. With demand so high, there needs to be a properly functional plan and strategy before we witness a repeat of the horrors of the Ellis Park disaster, where 43 supporters perished in a stadium stampede.

Of all people, it took the quirky Ramaphosa to start a conversation and chart a way forward to avoid chaos and another derby deadly disaster.

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