Another bruising season awaits the Birds
ALEXANDRA - It will be another bruising season for Bluebirds in the Sasol Women's League when it kicks off on 19 March.
It will be another bruising season for Bluebirds in the Sasol Women’s League when it kicks off on 19 March.
As Birds coach Malvin Khumalo puts it, they have been thrown into the lion’s den again with the re-establishment of a two-stream league. This after a tough season last year which saw them stave off relegation to stay in the elite league for a third consecutive season.
Khumalo said the South African Football Association (Safa) had conducted the draw and also announced the start of the new season. “But the unfortunate thing was that we have been taken back to the two-stream league and that means we get to play all the top sides in the league which happen to reside in our stream,” he said.
“We have just survived a bruising season last year that nearly got us relegated and again we’re back to square one with all the big guns in our pot. We were happy the league was going to expand and become a national affair with 16 teams but that will not happen anymore as Safa has come up with another compact season to accommodate the Rio Olympics later in the year.”
Khumalo said he was not sure whether his team would survive this time around, as six of the strongest national women’s football teams are in their eight-team stream.
But Khumalo was optimistic in the face of adversity. “We have been down this road before and survived. I am also certain if we prepare well we can manage to stave off relegation. We can start counting our fourth successive year in this league. I am spending sleepless nights trying to work out a plan.”
Unlike last year where two teams in each stream were relegated, Khumalo said this season one team from each stream would fall away and one team will be promoted per stream. This will then open the way for Safa to amalgamate the two streams to make up a national league of 16 teams.
Safa said they had reverted back to the two-stream league as a cost-cutting measure as requested by some teams but this did not go down well with the Birds mentor. “I don’t understand the premise for such a claim from the teams,” Khumalo said.
