Victory for Zimbabwe in their African Nations Cup qualifier on Monday is likely to have a significant impact on plans for next season’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign‚ which now promises to be the most congested ever.
The 4-0 win over Swaziland in Harare means Zimbabwe are advantageously placed for a berth in the Nations Cup finals in Gabon next January and‚ with a significant number of PSL-based players in their squad‚ will force the South African league to take a break mid-season to accommodate their departure for the tournament.
The PSL had been considering not breaking for the tournament — as it has for previous finals — as the chances of Bafana Bafana qualifying for Gabon 2017 receded dramatically in the 2-2 draw with Cameroon in Limbe on Saturday.
While clubs are allowed to request postponements if they lose players to international duty‚ the PSL figured there would be minimal disruption with just a handful of clubs affected‚ officials disclosed in a series of interviews.
But with Zimbabwe now emerging a possible finalist for the first time in a decade‚ the picture is significantly altered and the PSL will now likely stop just before Christmas and only resume in early February — imposing a significant hole in the calendar.
Previous plans had the league halting for Christmas and New Year but resuming in the second week of January.
This is because there is already a congestion problem with the 2016-17 season scheduled to start one month later than usual because of South Africa’s participation at the Olympic Games.
Traditionally the league gets under way on the first weekend of August but this year the men’s football tournament at the Olympics in Brazil runs from August 3-20.
South Africa qualified for the tournament last November and the under-23 side is virtually made up of home-based players.
The next league season is therefore scheduled to start on the weekend of August 26-27‚ and with a programme of 30 rounds of league fixtures plus three knockout tournaments to fit into a nine-month schedule‚ there is a chance clubs will be playing virtually twice a week.
It is exacerbated by Fifa-enforced breaks for international football in September (when the African Nations Cup qualifiers conclude)‚ October (when the group phase of the World Cup qualifiers start) and in March 2017 (also World Cup qualifying).
The final decision on the programme for next season will be made by the PSL executive committee in coming weeks‚ officials said.
It is eagerly awaited by club officials who are still in the dark over plans for the next campaign.
Bafana’s possible Nations Cup berth a quandary for PSL
Victory for Zimbabwe in their African Nations Cup qualifier on Monday is likely to have a significant impact on plans for next season’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) campaign‚ which now promises to be the most congested ever.
The 4-0 win over Swaziland in Harare means Zimbabwe are advantageously placed for a berth in the Nations Cup finals in Gabon next January and‚ with a significant number of PSL-based players in their squad‚ will force the South African league to take a break mid-season to accommodate their departure for the tournament.
The PSL had been considering not breaking for the tournament — as it has for previous finals — as the chances of Bafana Bafana qualifying for Gabon 2017 receded dramatically in the 2-2 draw with Cameroon in Limbe on Saturday.
While clubs are allowed to request postponements if they lose players to international duty‚ the PSL figured there would be minimal disruption with just a handful of clubs affected‚ officials disclosed in a series of interviews.
But with Zimbabwe now emerging a possible finalist for the first time in a decade‚ the picture is significantly altered and the PSL will now likely stop just before Christmas and only resume in early February — imposing a significant hole in the calendar.
Previous plans had the league halting for Christmas and New Year but resuming in the second week of January.
This is because there is already a congestion problem with the 2016-17 season scheduled to start one month later than usual because of South Africa’s participation at the Olympic Games.
Traditionally the league gets under way on the first weekend of August but this year the men’s football tournament at the Olympics in Brazil runs from August 3-20.
South Africa qualified for the tournament last November and the under-23 side is virtually made up of home-based players.
The next league season is therefore scheduled to start on the weekend of August 26-27‚ and with a programme of 30 rounds of league fixtures plus three knockout tournaments to fit into a nine-month schedule‚ there is a chance clubs will be playing virtually twice a week.
It is exacerbated by Fifa-enforced breaks for international football in September (when the African Nations Cup qualifiers conclude)‚ October (when the group phase of the World Cup qualifiers start) and in March 2017 (also World Cup qualifying).
The final decision on the programme for next season will be made by the PSL executive committee in coming weeks‚ officials said.
It is eagerly awaited by club officials who are still in the dark over plans for the next campaign.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos