PSL confirm August 8 restart

The regular season, including the Absa Premiership and GladAfrica Championship, is set to be completed by the first week in September, in a Biologically Safe Environment in Gauteng. 11 match venues and 14 training venues have already been selected by the PSL.

The Nedbank Cup final will be the last game of the regular season, though the promotion/relegation play-offs are then set to be played in the second and third week of September.

Phakaaathi understands that 13 of the 32 PSL clubs were not happy with the restart, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but dd not raise this at the meeting, which started at 12pm and ended fairly quickly.

There has been no PSL football since mid-March, when the season was postponed indefinitely.

Since then the South African Football Association and PSL have been working to get the campaign back underway, with a joint liaison committee report submitted to government.

Government have already given the go-ahead for clubs to return to training, and after a PSL Board of Governors meeting on Monday we are set for a season restart, though Khoza added that there were some final details to be ironed out in another BoG meeting in 72 hours.

The PSL chairman added that there was still one of the 32 PSL clubs that had yet to meet the necessary health and safety compliance for a return to training.

The financial implications of cancelling the season were set to be devastating, with PSL chairman Irvin Khoza suggesting in a previous press conference that the league would not be able to pay monthly grants to its 32 clubs any more, unless the season restarts.

The PSL had initially wanted to start the season on July 18, but Safa said that their referees would not be ready until August 1, and that there were other complicance issues with regard to the planned return, to be held in a Biologically Safe Environment in Gauteng.

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