The best part of being a sports fan is being at your local stadium with your friends and family, wearing the jersey of the team that you support and enjoying some snacks and a cold one as you show your support for your team. Now this is a feeling that many sport fans have missed over the last nineteen months.

The first game in South Africa to welcome fans back was the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifier between Bafana Bafana and Ethiopia that was hosted at the FNB Stadium, 2000 vaccinated fans were allowed to attend this encounter.

And more recently we saw the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final of the CSA T20 Knockout tournament allowing 2000 vaccinated fans.

I had the opportunity to chat to Johan van Heerden, the CEO of the Free State Cricket Union, about the importance of the stadiums opening again, especially for the players. He also explained that there is a possibility that cricket stadiums will be open for the upcoming 2022 Mzansi Super League.

In addition, I also spoke to the South African Football Association Provincial Executive Officer in the Free State, Mosa Dladla and she explained how hungry football fans are to get back to the stadiums.

Lastly, I spoke to Pite van Biljon, the captain of the Itec Knights, now he was the first captain to lift a trophy in front of local fans again at the Diamond oval in Kimberley after they won the final of the T20 Knockout tournament..

The next game in South Africa to allow fans back into the stadium again, is the MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, where Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Cape Town City, 2000 vaccinated fans will be in attendance.