Not enough loos Varsity Cup supporters’ biggest challenge

Three porta potties for women, three for men and five loos in each bathroom: this will be the real challenge when the NWU Eagles tackle Cape Town’s Ikeys in the FNB Varsity Cup final at the North-West University’s Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds on 17 April 2023.

If you get stuck in the loo line, you will miss part of the game. And from experience these lines can cause greater frustration among supporters than what might be going wrong on the field. Around 4,000 spectators are expected at the final, according to Christi Cloete, senior stakeholder relations officer at the North-West University (NWU).

Palesa Maretlwa, a communication student, avoids the bathrooms during the game because everyone complains about the lines. “You have to wait 20-30 minutes just to get in. If you go, you’ll basically listen to the game and not watch it.” 

Chane Lombaard, an education major, said that the lines are terrible and it takes a lot of time to get to the bathrooms. “We need more porta potties. It will assist with the (bathroom) traffic and you can get back to the game quicker.”

Maretlwa said the stadium should consider getting five porta potties for men and women. “Everyone cannot possibly use only the few available.”

According to engineering student Danae Ford, “The female bathroom lines are always insanely busy. They always go past the queues where they scan your [game] tickets in. You already know that if you have to go to the bathroom, you will miss half the game.” She said that the bathrooms are not a problem at all, as they are quite clean. However, the porta potties are disgusting. “It smells like something died in there. I don’t think there are enough porta potties considering there are thousands and thousands of seats.”

Louis Jacobs, the director of corporate communication at the NWU, said that additional amenities have been brought in for the final match. 

Varsity Cup management did not want to comment on the issue.