Special provision has been made for the up to 67 000 soccer lovers who are expected at the stadium at Nasrec south of Johannesburg, Bafana Dlamini of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) told a pre-final news conference on Tuesday.

Dlamini said last year's final, which AmaKhosi won easily by humiliating Cosmos 5-0 at the same venue, attracted at least 60 000 fans. That turnout was described as "record breaking" for a local cup final.

He said tickets, which have been on sale at MTN stores since November 22, would still be available until Friday. They are being sold at R21 for adults and R10 for children.

"Leftovers if there will be any, will be sold at the stadium but for R25 for adults," he said. "The discount of R4 is an attempt by the cup committee to encourage people to buy tickets early."

The eagerly-awaited encounter, which has been described as a "rematch" between the two protagonists, will start at 15:00 although it was unclear who will be the third man inside the pitch.

"We will know in due course as to who will be the referee," said Dlamini.

Safety guaranteed

Safety of the soccer enthusiasts was guaranteed.

"We will have 938 security personnel," he said.

"They will take over the stadium as from Friday night. Sniffing dogs will be there to make sure that what happened recently in Soweto - bombings - is prevented."

Godfrey Mbingo of Coca-Cola said roadshows had already been held in various areas of the Gauteng region.

"Twenty-thousand 500ml (cans) of coke will be handed to the first 20 000 fans," he said. "It is our strategy to encourage people to come early."

Putco Mafani publicist for AmaKhosi announced that 150 branches had confirmed their attendance.

The continent's most supported club boasts 244 branches nationally.

"Our website has done a marvellous job in terms of encouraging our supporters to come to the game," said Mafani. "We are humbled to defend our trophy. In fact it has not been easy to be where we are right now."

Skipper Brian "Spiderman" Baloyi, who denied Cosmos even a consolation goal last year, conceded it would be a "tough fight".

"But we want retain our trophy," said the goalkeeper.

Khwezi Masondo, who represented Cosmos at the press conference, assured the paying public "their monies worth".

"We are ready psychologically and physically," he said.

It was also announced that a team scoring more than two goals will earn R10 000 per goal of which half will go to the charity program.

Twenty-two school children between the ages of 10 and 13 will lead both teams onto the field.

A game between South African Football Association (Safa) Gauteng and the Vaal under-17's will pave way for the final at 12:00.

Coca-Cola Pop Stars finalists, Alaska, Brothers of Peace, and Nkayiso will provide the food of the ears before the soccer showpiece.