South African football ready to resume next month
PREMIER Soccer League action is set to return early next month and not this coming weekend, as the league had initially planned.
This was confirmed in a statement released by the South African Football Association yesterday.
According to a letter sent by acting PSL chief executive Mato Madlala to acting Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe last Friday, the league had scheduled to reboot the local season this weekend, but that is no longer the case after deliberations between the football mother body and the professional league.
Safa released a statement detailing the return of PSL action which has now been scheduled for August.
Addressing the media on Monday, PSL chairman Irvin Khoza indicated that the league needed six weeks to complete the remaining fixtures.
“The SA Football Association (Safa) worked on processes outlined in the return to play protocol which was submitted and agreed by the government. Subsequently, the government issued a regulation in terms of the Government Gazette.
“On June 11, the Minister of Sport (Nathi Mthethwa) sent a letter to Safa that they should appoint the Compliance Officer to oversee the entire process of return to training and return to play protocols,” the Safa statement read.
“On Friday, July 10, the Safa working group met their PSL counterparts to deliberate and finalise the date on resumption of play. The meeting continued on Monday, July 13, when it was noted that according to the Referees Sub-Committee of the Technical Committee, the first week of August 2020 is the appropriate date for the commencement of NSL matches.”
The games will be completed in Gauteng behind closed doors. All the 32 clubs, including GladAfrica Championship clubs, will be in a ‘bio-bubble’ environment.
The PSL action has been on hold since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic
Safa said there will 100 match officials who will be subjected to mandatory medical and fitness tests ahead of the resumption of games.
“The medical examination specifically entails testing for Covid19 and those who test negative will be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day fitness test under the guidance of the Fifa-approved fitness trainer. A Fifa fitness consultant participated in the discussion,” the statement said.
Most PSL clubs are back in training following the relaxation of the regulations by government last month.
Safa explained that Fifa left the responsibility of return to play date to governments of the affiliated countries and the national association will now update them on the developments.