SAFA’s request to have DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship fixtures for March end early has been turned down by the PSL.
SAFA had hoped a PSL fixture and two Motsepe Foundation ties on March 19 would be rescheduled. The idea was to give Bafana Bafana and the national Under 23 team time to prepare for crucial upcoming matches.
Bafana take on Liberia in a decisive two-legged AFCON qualifier tie on March 24 and 28. The Under 23s play Congo Brazzaville on March 23 and 27 in a third-round Africa U23 Cup of Nations qualifiers.
PSL ONLY BREAKING AFTER MARCH 19 GAMES
Bafana’s first leg encounter takes place in Johannesburg before they visit the Lone Stars in Monrovia. On the other hand, David Notoane’s Under 23s start at home.
PSL fixtures are scheduled for a break after the March 19 games, while the international window begins on March 20.
“We’d hoped the support from the PSL and its clubs would assist the Bafana coach and his team in having additional time to prepare the team for the two important matches.
“There’s also the national Under 23s who play Congo the same week as Bafana. Most of their players play in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. They’ll only be available on the 20th [Monday]. That leaves them little time to prepare for the Congo game [Thursday, 23 March].
“The two bodies [SAFA and PSL] must work together for the national team’s good,” a source told FARPost.
SAFA TOLD GAMES CAN’T BE CANCELLED
In rejecting the request, PSL is said to have indicated that they could not cancel the matches because of obligations to commercial partners.
Contacted for comment on Tuesday morning, PSL media relations manager Fhatuwani Mpfuni was unable to provide a response to FARPost, citing he was in back-to-back meetings.
The only PSL fixture on 19 March is TS Galaxy against Richards Bay at the Mbombela Stadium. Under 23 mentor, Notoane, would want to have the TS Galaxy trio of Mike Sebelebele, Nkosikhona Radebe and MacBeth Mahlangu.
At Richards Bay, there is talented left-back Siyanda Msani. On the 19th, there are two Motsepe Foundation Championship fixtures. Cape Town Spurs host Pretoria Callies while Venda FC play Polokwane City in a Limpopo derby.
Notoane has previously called five players from Spurs and one from Callies. The setback means his preparations will also be affected.
THE CURRENT STATUS OF FOOTBALL
“We don’t even talk preparation time, to be honest. That’s the life of us national team coaches. It doesn’t help that the current status of football doesn’t have a process where you can ask PSL games to be postponed or games to be shifted easily because of the way the program is.
“The biggest challenge is to have the best possible preparation for this match given the conditions. Remember, we’re playing on Thursday, and the last league game for player availability is on Sunday,” Notoane told FARPost.
After losing to Morocco, Bafana must win twice against Liberia to qualify for the 2024 AFCON in Ivory Coast. Failure to win one of the games against Liberia would leave them with the insurmountable task of beating the FIFA World Cup semi-finalists, Morocco, depending on the other result.
Hugo Broos’ charges have played four international friendly matches since the loss against Morocco. They won three of them against – Sierra Leone, Botswana and Mozambique. The other tie – against Angola – ended in a draw at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
The last time Bafana was at the AFCON finals was in Egypt 2019. They were eliminated in the quarter-final stage.
RELATED STORY: MUST-READ: Why Hugo Broos is right about SA’s football standards
