Benni’s in the area

FORGET the days when it was often said, with much mirth, that football in South Africa was run from the boot of the club owner’s car. These days, it’s so much bigger.

And, season after season, the PSL just gets more intriguing and continues to captivate its legion of fans.

So, as our very own Cape Town City kick off the new league season tonight with a crunch game against champions Wits, there are so many interesting aspects to keep an eye on as the campaign unfolds.

In keeping with its increasing status as the biggest football league on the continent, the PSL this week celebrated clinching yet another multimillion-rand sponsorship deal with one of the country’s leading banks – R500 million over five years.

There are many other corporates lining up to be part of the action and this has allowed the cash-flush PSL to compete with smaller European leagues with regard to players’ salaries. This, in turn, has improved the quality of the football – and the overall hope is that it will, in time to come, improve the fortunes of Bafana Bafana.

One of the main things football followers across the country have their eyes on this season is Benni McCarthy and how he goes in his first stint as a head coach. Can he translate his extraordinary success as a player to his new role as coach? The former Bafana Bafana striker has certainly started well – City are already through to the semi-finals of the MTN8 and there was a lot to like about the solid, professional nature of the performance.

There is, of course, still a long way to go and there are challenges ahead for McCarthy. But his presence alone, back in his home town, has provided another injection of enthusiasm for Cape football, in the same way that the establishing of City did last year.

McCarthy and City have much to live up to. The new Cape PSL club finished third on the PSL standings last season.

Now everybody in football all over the country is watching, with great anticipation, to find out whether that achievement was a flash in the pan or whether this Cape team really is the real deal.