PIC: The Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban

The stunning Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban has been chosen as the venue for the 2025 Nedbank Cup final, with Kaizer Chiefs in particular having mixed memories at the 2010 FIFA World Cup venue.
Chiefs will take on Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates in the marquee fixture on May 10, the fifth instance that the Nedbank Cup decider has been played at the iconic venue.
It was the scene of Chiefs’ 1-0 win over SuperSport United in the final of the 2013 Nedbank Cup, a game that went to extra-time before Bernard Parker’s long range effort sealed victory.
The last final there in 2019 also involved Chiefs but this time it would end in the bitter disappointment of defeat as they were edged 1-0 by then second-tier TS Galaxy, the only ever instance where a team from outside the topflight has lifted the trophy.
The other two Nedbank Cup finals played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium involved Pirates and they too have bittersweet memories.
The Buccaneers defeated BidVest Wits 3-1 in the 2014 final, but then lost 4-1 to SuperSport United in 2017 for a 50% record in Nedbank Cup finals at the venue.

This will be Pirates’ 11^th final at the stadium, including winning the first trophy to be decided there in 2010, just months after the World Cup final, when they edged Moroka Swallows on post-match penalties to lift the MTN8.

That was one of seven trophy successes at Moses Mabhida, while they have lost the other three.

It is made up of MTN8 success in 2010, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024, plus the 2011 Telkom Knockout and the 2014 Nedbank Cup final.

Pirates lost the 2013 MTN8 final on penalties to Platinum Stars and then again the next year to Chiefs when Tefu Mashamaite scored the only goal of the game. They also lost that 2017 Nedbank Cup decider.

There have been 12 different venues used for a Nedbank Cup final in the 18 years of the competition since 2008, but the Moses Mabhida Stadium has now featured in five of those years.

Last year’s final venue was the Mbombela Stadium, where Pirates defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1, and before that Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, where the Buccaneers beat Sekhukhune United 2-1.

And the year before that the final was played at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng in the North West province as Sundowns defeated Marumo Gallants by the same scoreline.

Selecting a stadium to host the decider is not as cut and dried as it might seem and there are a number of factors at play.

The first of these is that it is usually in a neutral province, unless both teams are from the same one. An example of this would be the Orlando Stadium, which in 2012 hosted SuperSport United defeating Mamelodi Sundowns.

The only other time the final was staged in Orlando, it was not a neutral venue, though there were extenuating circumstances.

This was for the 2020 decider when Sundowns beat Bloemfontein Celtic, but domestic football was being played in the Gauteng bio-bubble and so organisers had no other choice. 

Other occasions when there was not a neutral venue was in the inaugural season in 2008 as Sundowns beat Mpumalanga Black Aces at the Johannesburg Stadium, and in 2010 when the newly rebuilt FNB Stadium played host to BidVest Wits against AmaZulu.

It was a match to showcase the new venue and South Africa’s readiness for the FIFA World Cup that was to be played that year. 

There is just one 2010 World Cup venue that has not yet hosted the Nedbank Cup decider since 2008 – Ellis Park in Johannesburg.    

Aside from the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Orlando Stadium (2012, 2020) was the only other venue to have hosted multiple Nedbank Cup finals before the Mbombela Stadium (2011, 2024) was added to that list this year.
Other finals have been played at the Johannesburg Stadium (2008), Rand Stadium (2009), FNB Stadium (2010), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (2015), Peter Mokaba Stadium (2016), Cape Town Stadium (2018), Free State Stadium (2021), Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace (2022) and Loftus Stadium (2023).

NEDBANK CUP FINAL VENUES 

2008 - Johannesburg Stadium

2009 - Rand Stadium

2010 - FNB Stadium

2011 - Mbombela Stadium

2012 - Orlando Stadium

2013 - Moses Mabhida Stadium

2014 - Moses Mabhida Stadium

2015 - Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

2016 - Peter Mokaba Stadium

2017 - Moses Mabhida Stadium

2018 - Cape Town Stadium

2019 - Moses Mabhida Stadium

2020 - Orlando Stadium

2021 - Free State Stadium

2022 - Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace

2023 - Loftus Stadium

2024 - Mbombela Stadium

2025 - Moses Mabhida Stadium