Football impasse must be resolved

The Premier Soccer League are adamant their domestic season will resume next weekend with the Nedbank Cup semifinals – more than 100 days after all professional sport in South Africa came to an abrupt halt following government’s enforced lockdown due to the coronavirus.

Late last week they went as far as releasing a list of 14 training venues and 11 match venues, with a plan to operate in a “biologically safe environment” in Gauteng. However, there’s a catch. The SA Football Association (Safa) don’t agree, insisting it doesn’t make sense to resume so quickly.

It’s reported they believe fixtures can’t start before mid-August at the earliest, and that the PSL have gone against a decision made by the sports minister Nathi Mthethwa‚ who insisted Safa lead the way in ensuring compliance to the safety protocols in place.

Safa also doesn’t believe the referees are in a position to officiate now as they have not been tested and have not undergone physical training.

That’s fair enough. A careful, safe plan has to be implemented before any matches resume. That’s non-negotiable. There’s a strong feeling fans have had to wait this long, you can’t afford to start, get it wrong, only for the league to be suspended yet again.

There’s also important financial implications at stake, like who will be relegated and who will be promoted. The problem is we are running out of time. Some teams still have to complete nine league matches this season, the rest not so many.

The new season usually starts in August. Professional football has returned to most countries after the pandemic struck earlier this year. Yes, there’s certainly no one shoe fits all scenario, but if Safa and the PSL can’t come to an agreement – and can’t do it quickly – then we need to be realistic and start thinking about scrapping the rest of the season. It’s not an ideal situation, but if all parties can’t agree, it might be the only remaining viable solution.

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