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 We are heading for what should have been the third round of the second-tier league's fixtures and yet no ball has been kicked. 

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This also while Kaizer Chiefs supporters are celebrating the team's glorious start to the 2012-13 Premier Soccer League season and being on top of the log.

The recent happenings within the National First Division clubs is, or should, be a serious cause for concern.

We are heading for what should have been the third round of the second-tier league's fixtures and yet no ball has been kicked.

The reasons given and denied are as confusing to football followers just as they seemingly are to the protagonists.

It has been said that the stand-off is due to a change in the wording of a resolution taken at a meeting where all the t's were crossed and i's dotted during negotiations.

What we are not told, however, is who did that and why.

What we know is that the NFD has been allowed to be a stand-alone league and that there is about R115-million allocated to them from the PSL's Solidarity Fund.

PSL chairman, Irvin Khoza, has since scheduled a meeting for September 27 at which this matter is to be discussed and, hopefully, resolved.

We believe that the matter deserved more urgency than that.

The league should have called the meeting the day after NFD clubs boycotted the new season's first fixtures last week.

Waiting for referees or match commissioners' reports was, and is going to take the issue, nowhere as the matches were not played and that is general knowledge.

The reports are neither here nor there and won't help solve the impasse.

What is also worrying is that newly promoted Roses United are the only team that is turning up for games when they are fully aware of the status quo.

What message are they sending to the other 15 clubs in the NFD with whom they are supposed to play.

Are they aware they stand to benefit in whatever their fellow clubs in the NFD are fighting for?

Have they ever heard of an injury to one being an injury to all. We guess not.

As things stand they most probably believe they already have six points from the games they turned up for and not played.

Is that how they believe they should or will win promotion to the elite league?

Let us hope they do not live to regret their actions.

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Sun May 19 07:06:26 SAST 2013 ::

Sep 21, 2012

sakhomba

@Sowetan Editorial
these guys were given the go ahead to be stand- alone league. they should know it comes with hardwork and strategies, surely they do not expect to ride on the hardwork of the PSL. And those who are at the forefront of boycots such as Nxumalo and Pat Malabela all they want is to have it easy at the NFD and benefit for nothing. the very same Pat Malabela sold his team for R10million to Dr.Sokhela who renamed it Amazulu. a couple of weeks later when Pirates was playing Chiefs which was the last game played at FNB before it was renovated to host WC 2010. Malabela rocked up with a brand new Lamborghini at Nasrec. A couple of months later the very same Malabela emerged as the owner of Dynamos. If he thinks he is going to cry foul and run to the papers each time his dodgy business methods are thwarted then he has another thing coming.

as far as promotion play offs are a concerned, the PSL is run professionally and it should not be easy to join in. the only thing that still does not make sense is to have NFD teams playing the whole season only to win a couple of thousand rands while journalist are promised R500,000 to merely guess the winner of the 2012/2013 season (which equates to getting more for merely doing your work). but then again that is the prerogative of the PSL.
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