The tickets for Saturday’s Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have been sold out.

The two Soweto giants are set to battle it out once more at FNB Stadium in what is their third meeting this year, having squared off in the league before slugging it out once more in a Telkom Knockout semi-final  held at Moses Mabhida Stadium in November last year.

A total of 87 500 tickets were made available for the big clash, and much like the two previous occasions, they have been sold out with over 24 hours remaining before kick off.

Fans to flock to FNB Stadium despite calls to boycott Soweto Derby

Reports earlier this week suggested that thousands of tickets were being sold each day, despite calls for the public to boycott sporting events sponsored by cellular network giant, Vodacom.

This was due to a long-winded legal battle between Vodacom – which sponsors both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – and “Please Call Me” inventor, Nkosana Makete.

However, the calls for a stay away seem to have fallen on deaf ears as Amakhosi communications manager, Vino Maphosa projected on Tuesday that tickets would be sold out by Wednesday.

“They have been selling at about 3 000 a day. We expect that they may be sold out by tomorrow,” he was quoted by TimesLive.

On Friday, he confirmed to the same publication that there were no more tickets available to the general public.

“Tickets for the general public have been sold out.”

Kaizer Chiefs are the home side in this particular fixture, and go into it reeling from defeat in their last outing – a 1-0 loss to Cape Town City which saw them drop to sixth on the log.

Like their rivals, Orlando Pirates also relinquished their standing on the league table, as Mamelodi Sundowns claimed all three points against Black Leopards, following the Buccaneers’ draw against Baroka last time out.