‘We should be playing despite WC’
No club affected by player call-ups
Given that some leagues on the continent are still playing, SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt feels the PSL should have continued with business instead of closing shop for the Fifa World Cup. Hunt’s team last played in the DStv Premiership at the end of last month where they drew 1-1 with Swallows. Going into the World Cup break, United had form and momentum on their side, as they raced to third place.
With PSL having no player participating in the World Cup taking place in Qatar, some feel that the local league should be playing on as there are no teams affected by player callups to their national team. Another reason being brought forward is that leagues such as the Egyptian Premier League, Tanzanian Premier League and Malian Premier Division are carrying on with their regularly scheduled programmes.
Hunt suggested that one of the reasons the Premiership has gone on a break is that United’s sister company, DStv, may have invested its resources in broadcasting the World Cup, meaning it could not focus on the league. “Maybe it’s to do with DStv. DStv sponsors the league and they are heavily involved with the World Cup. So maybe it’s stretching them and it’s too difficult to cross all the fronts,” Hunt said when speaking to the media in Sandton during the Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge launch. “But possibly we could have played a bit more games had they given us time. Because we stopped three weeks ago, we could have played other sixseven games.
“Right now we play on December 30, January 3 and 6, so it’s going to be crazy. Maybe January could have been a lot easier on everybody and have it like another pre-season. “The Egyptian League has been playing; the Malian league has been playing. I look at the leagues every day and most of the guys in Africa are playing,” he said.