By Perkins-Tino Bare.
Harare, Zimbabwe. (News of The South) – It looks bleak for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) as chances of the league finally starting in September are still in doubt. The PSL had set a provisional date for the start of the league in September but this seems highly unlikely with the new government tightening measures as the Covid 19 cases are now on a spike in Zimbabwe.
The PSL had initially opted to go the academic route, opting to do a bit of research before mapping out how the league was supposed to start. This was after Zambia went off on a false start and had to call it quits early after a rise of the infections amongst the players and the staff.
ZIFA spokesperson, Xolisani Gwesela said that they had chosen a path of caution and will conduct a thorough research before giving the greenlight for the game to start. “First, we have to understand our own risks, we have to understand how coronavirus has impacted on us and then chart the way forward,” said Gwesela in an interview with The Herald.
“I cannot speak on behalf of Zambia or South Africa but, in our case as Zimbabwe, we decided to go scientific and we are going to conduct a research.
“This research will be accompanied by questionnaires, survey and we are going to do experiments.
“We would want to conduct an empirical research which will guide us by giving us objective results.
“We can only start the season, once we have done the survey, conduct the experiments and then analyse the results.
“That’s when we can only be able to assess the risk. That assessment will guide us when to start the season in line with the CAF, FIFA and Government recommendations, which we will religiously follow.”
With football slowly resuming in the region, his then ensued with the league proposing September as the start of the league after Zambia (suspended), and South Africa who will kick off their league this weekend with the Nedbank Cup this Saturday. Whilst South Africa has in a way managed to create their own version of the bubble setting apart Gauteng province as the venue to house all 32 teams from the Absa Premiership and the Championship. “We have put saving lives first, in fact our whole approach is governed by this all-important health factor” said the Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Dr Irvine Khoza. This would be hard to believe as Gauteng province was identified as the epicentre of the coronavirus accounting for over a third of the infections in South Africa.
Back home the PSL seems to be in a compromised position with Harare already being named as the epicentre of the virus,
“In as much as we want football to start, we can only stand guided by our medical experts as well as what the government says.” At the moment, the Medical Committee is working on a comprehensive framework to enable the game to return during this pandemic and must submit their dossier today. Zifa will then forward the document to the Sports and Recreation Commission and health authorities for approval.
“There is no need for us to rush because the pandemic is within us. We need to be patient while observing all the protocols,” the PSL boss said. “In my own opinion, I think the South Africans are just desperate to conclude their season, otherwise it’s not looking good. It’s important that we don’t always copy everything from Europe, it does not work here in Africa. Here, most players wait for the next Zupco to and from training whereas in Europe players choose which car to use so it’s a different scenario. We need to be extremely careful….” Ndebele said in an interview with Daily News.
Whether the bubble Absa intends to create in Gauteng will work or not, lit remains to see how the PSL will go about it in the event of football resuming. The only difference is that whilst other leagues are finishing off their league seasons, we had not even started on the 2020 league season so there will be a lot more matches to be played. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) on the other hand cannot just call off the season as there are many stakeholders involved.
Though it may be interesting to also be part of the conversation, we really need to question our motives for starting the league. The European leagues were pushed by the economic aspect especially from the broadcasters as there were contracts to be fulfilled. In France where the league was cut short in March, broadcasters like Canal+ were refusing to pay the clubs as they had not received all the matches, a tussle which ended in the broadcasters having to pay for the matches already broadcasted on their channels before the league break in mid-march.
We don’t have TV rights to talk of as most of the revenue for the clubs is generated through gate-takings. So, this then means that there’s no point in resuming the PSL behind closed doors as no one will watch the match unless the PSL strikes a late deal with the national broadcaster, ZBC.
ZIFA had received a bailout from FIFA and CAF of US$1.8 million to combat the effects of Covid 19 with the clubs set to receive US$5 500 each with another US$300 000 going towards Covid-19 testing and medical equipment to ensure football returns safely. This however has already started a debate of its own after the ZIFA President Felton Kamabo announced the figures which did not tally and, as the PSL is also set to be receiving the funds in RTGS instead from ZIFA.
This then calls for ZIFA, PSL and the Sports and Recreation Committee to think of the best way to cushion the players on and off the pitch. Football is important yes, but it can only be profitable when enjoyed by the fans either in the stadium or at home of which none of them seems to be an option the PSL has at the moment.
Last month the country was counting 605 cases and 8 deaths, but these have since surged to 4075 and 80 deaths.
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