PSL clubs given green light to resume training
Hopes of completing the Premier Soccer League 2019/20 season received a boost on Saturday as Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa announced that training could resume for professional contact sports under Level 3 of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture (Photo by Gallo Images/Darren Stewart)
It could well still be some time before the league can start, however, with sport in stadia remaining off-limits, as is the actual playing of any professional contact sport.
At a press briefing on Saturday, Mthethwa confirmed that training could resume for professional contact and non-contact sports from June 1. He added, however that this could only be done under strict safety measures.
“All sport bodies must, within 14 days after the publication of these directions, inform the minister in writing as to the date of resumption and further provide an operational guideline including a guarantee in form of affidavits related to the testing of all officials,” said Mthethwa.
The PSL is compiling a joint report with the South African Football Association to present to government, and the league were hopeful non-contact training could resume in June, with a view to finishing off the season in three weeks in July.
One added spanner in the works could be that the Mthethwa also said that no sport can take place in so-called Covid hotspots, which include Johannesburg and Cape Town.
This means that the PSL may have to find a way to move all training to lower-risk provinces like the Limpopo and the North West, if they are to even get training back up and running.
The PSL has been suspended since March 16.
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