As the Premier Soccer League (PSL) board of governors (BoG) meets today to deliberate on whether or not to suspend its Premiership and national first division matches, the national football governing body Safa made an unequivocal ruling yesterday to suspended all matches in all the facets of football in the country.
Safa put its foot down, sternly warning all stakeholders about the dangers of gatherings for the purpose of playing football amid the increasing number of people contracting the coronavirus. The total number of infected now stands at 116.
Fuelling the confusion over the last few days is the announcement by sports minister Nathi Mthethwa who, on Monday, said that the PSL matches can be played behind closed doors.
The PSL had already suspended its fixture programme for the week in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a state of disaster due to the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Safa president Danny Jordaan announced on Thursday that the decision, taken after the Fifa and CAF directive would be adhered to and that no football activities would be held within the borders of the country until April 4.
The majority of major leagues around the world have suspended games and in some instances cancelled the football programmes. This also includes other sporting activities and major sports meetings worldwide.
During the announcement Jordaan was accompanied by the football mother body’s CEO Gay Mokoena and Safa’s head of medical Dr. Thulani Ngwenya, who gave a lowdown on the dangers of having players and spectators gathering in masses for a football game.
Jordaan said the decision to suspend matches was “final” until further notice and includes PSL matches. The PSL is due to hold its board of governors meeting today (Thursday) to take a final decision after earlier mooting to play matches behind closed doors.
