There's no place like home.
It’s a child-like thought. When you’re a little kid, you can’t wait to get home where mommy is, a place of safety
But when you grow up, home becomes your castle, your seat of power.
So when Stellenbosch make their PSL debut at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, they rock up with mixed feelings.
It’s not home for them.
Home is Idas Valley Stadium, tucked innie Vlei’s community.
That’s where they played on their games on the way to the top flight.
There the passion runs high, there the players hear names chanted from the stands. There Simonsberg traps the heat that stifles opponents in the Boland heat.
And Stellenbosch miss that.
While playing at a 2010 World Cup venue against one of SA football’s iconic brands, Orlando Pirates, is huge for the PSL newcomers, they would rather be taking Bucs at home.
Planning is afoot to get Idas Valley up to PSL standards before the year is out, but it’s still a long way to go and it could only happen next season.
Coach Steve Barker and his team were guests of honour at a dinner hosted by the Western Cape Premier and the Mayor Of Stellenbosch earlier this week.
And there they hailed the team as representatives of the Winelands.
Stellies very much feel like Bolanders and are keen to play their football at home once they have made their way past the league’s red tape.
Obviously, safety is of the utmost priority at stadiums.
And the codes we have in place at the moment are the result of the gradual raising of the standards as more and more incidents happen in huge games.
But that is for big games at big stadiums.
Small-capacity grounds should have a lower standard to meet - you’re policing a couple of thousand, not 60 000.
Some common-sense measures can be made to ensure Stellenbosch get to play where they belong.
And that’s home, that's where their fans are.