Baxter calls for fixtures that allow rest

Stuart Baxter has warned that South African football needs to plan against club fixture congestion so Bafana Bafana avoid underperforming.

New Bafana coach Baxter has urged the South African Football Association and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to continue working together to balance fixture congestion and the interests of national teams. He cited English underperformance as a result of congestion.

“The English national team has never really fulfilled what everybody expects of it‚” the former England Under-20 coach said ahead of his first match with Bafana, the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Nigeria in Uyo on June 10.

“One of the reasons is that their programme is so hectic that, by the time they have a qualification‚ they do well in the early parts but then fall away.

“We’ve got to get our house in the best possible order‚ so that we give our boys the best possible chance.

“Not where if clubs do well on the continent it’ll cost them so much they’ll be out of domestic honours for the next four years.

“The same with Bafana. While Nigeria have camped in France for three weeks‚ playing against Corsica and Togo‚ I’ve got to pick up SuperSport and could have been improved.

The PSL has continued to improve markedly in making allowances for the national cause‚ seen again last season with a late start in August to aid the SA U-23s at the Rio Olympics‚ complicating their scheduling even further.

But the league persisted with a Christmas break‚ extending the season‚ which in turn will affect Bafana’s preparations against Nigeria.

The PSL’s continued insistence‚ too‚ in bowing to sponsors’ demands to stage cup competitions on a league fixtures-free week or weekend also creates unnecessary congestion. /