Staff Writer – The Zimbabwe Daily
Johannesburg, South Africa – The long wait for the resumption of football in both the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and the National First Division (NFD) is expected to end come the first of next month.
It’s been more than three months since domestic football was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although there seems to be a tug of war between the PSL and the South African Football Association (SAFA) on the exact date, SAFA has already hinted that domestic football is expected to resume on the 1st of August.
“We proposed the first of August for the resumption of football but we are still waiting upon the PSL to give us it’s response. The PSL told us it’s still consulting with it’s stakeholders.
However, the first batch of referees are expected to resume training today or tomorrow and then the second batch on Saturday.
If the League resumes as anticipated we are expecting at least five games per day, so now the onus is upon the PSL,” said Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe, SAFA’s Acting CEO.
Ajax Cape Town’s CEO, Ari Efstathiou also concurred with Advocate Motlanthe citing that the leagues have to be completed.
“We need to complete both leagues to avoid unnecessary despondencies, because if we don’t then how will teams from the NFD be promoted to the League and what will be the relegation format?
So it’s very important for us to finish our seasons. I know we are currently sitting at the summit of the NFD log, seven points clear with six games to play and the only way the second team can catch us is if we lose all our games which is highly unlikely nevertheless, we want to finish the season in the field,” said Efstathiou.
If all things go as planned, all the remaining games will be played in Gauteng in a “bio bubble.”
