SEDIBENG.- The Emfuleni Local Football Associations (ELFA) Super League games have been suspended with immediate effect due to the current third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. This announcement was made by the League Coordinator, Oupa Tladinyane after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown over the weekend due to the rise of Covid-19 cases. The Super League teams remain with three games to complete their league scheduled for the 2020/2021 season. The teams played their last games over the weekend at various venues in Sedibeng before Ramaphosa’s ‘family meeting’. Last season ELFA Super League teams were unable to finish their league programme due to the Covid-19 and the top teams in Stream A and B were declared the winners. To make things worse, this time around the Super League is divided into four streams. A statement Tladinyane sent out reads as follows: “This message serves as a notice to all that the ELFA football activities are suspended from today (June 28) with immediate effect due to the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic until further notice.” Tladinyane pleaded to the players, coaches, team managers and soccer fans to take care and stay home, sanitize, wear masks and wash hands regularly. “We don’t have a choice but to suspend our league programme due to the 3rd wave of Covid-19 pandemic in our country. It is about the safety of everyone one because of the increase of this pandemic. “I challenge everyone, especially those who are involved in football, to take this initiative serious and to spread the message out there. I believe together we can defeat this pandemic so that we can be back in the field of play again,” said Tladinyane. On the other hand, Tladinyane said he was happy that the league remains with three games unlike last season when the teams were left with nine games when President Cyril Rampahosa announced nationwide ‘hard’ lockdown.
