Soccer bodies differ on PSL restart
Safa and league resume hostilities
The simmering cold war that has marked the stagnation of progress in South African football over the years reared its ugly head again this week with the two custodians of football openly disagreeing on when the league should restart.
The battle for the soul of football came to the fore when Safa and the PSL, the two main bodies in charge of the game, failed to meet on March 21, as scheduled, to discuss football’s progress in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
With the announcement of the easing of coronavirus restrictions and piecemeal liberties by President Cyril Ramphosa this week as the country ushered in level 4 of the lockdown, Safa issued a statement pronouncing that there would still be no football matches until the country reaches level 1.
The football mother body, headed by its president Danny Jordaan, said it had taken note of the easing of the restrictions and invited two medical experts to submit reports on when it would be safe to resume playing football.
“Safa will submit a full report to the world football governing body, Fifa on the impact of Covid-19 on football in our country and when Safa believes it will be safe to resume football again,” the statement read.
“Safa will work with the government, led by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, in this process. As things stand, the two experts argue that football can only be played on level 1, but still without spectators, and that all clubs must have full-time sports doctors to manage the Covid-19 situation.”
After the cancellation of the March 21 meeting, the professional wing, under the leadership of its chairman, Irvin Khoza, announced that it was due to meet its members on
Thursday, without Safa, to decide when it would be conducive to start playing football again, possibly behind closed doors.
But such a decision runs the risk of sparking a public backlash and a confrontation with
Safa‚ who look determined to claim the moral high ground by driving the agenda with the assistance of the government and medical experts.
As the custodians of football, Safa’s Jordaan has been on record reiterating that there would be no football until the football controlling body gives the goahead after consulting Fifa and CAF.
“Safa’s word is final,” he declared in March when the PSL unilaterally decided on playing matches behind closed doors immediately after the outbreak.
To play behind closed doors‚ the PSL would have to keep access down to below 50 people, which would be tough if the games are to be televised.
Ordinarily there are 30 to 40 people per football team at the match venue and television brings at least another 50 staff to the venue‚ plus PSL officials and the media‚ seemingly taking it above the 100-person limit. A resumption would also mean clubs would need to travel, which goes against Ramaphosa’s directive against non-essential travel.
The two experts argue football can only be played on level 1