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Safa planning to complete the remainder of the ABC Motsepe provincial leagues amid the threat of Covid-19

SAFA acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe.
SAFA acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe.
Image: SAFA

With football set to resume with a return to training in the coming weeks, the SA Football Association (Safa) is planning to complete the remainder of the third-tier ABC Motsepe provincial leagues amid the threat of Covid-19.

The return to the fields will be based on strict social distancing and government approved safety measure protocols and will not be cheap to execute for a league that is notorious for its disorganisation and perennial financial problems.

Acting Safa CEO Tebogo Motlanthe told SowetanLIVE on Wednesday that they will keep a close eye on Covid-19 developments and will only make the call for the resumption of play of the third-tier league when it is safe to do so as the lockdown restrictions wind down.

“Yes we have plans as the administration and such plans will be approved by our competitions committee in line with our protocol,” said Motlanthe.

“We shall continue to monitor the Covid 19 and when it’s safe to play we shall make the call.”

Safa last month admitted to having cash flow problems related to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

This came to light after the organisation was alleged to have failed to pay the ABC Motsepe clubs some of the travel allowances, prize monies and referee’s travelling allowances dating from previous seasons. Asked if the resumption of the under-financed third-tier league will not run into problems as it attempts to adhere the strict guidelines, Motlanthe said Safa would have to adapt to the cost implications.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is not static, as it changes and levels changing the requirements gets easy and then we shall adapt,” said Motlanthe.

“Our stance remains that of health first and we shall continue to monitor and make the call when the time is right.”

The ABC Motsepe is a provincial league contested in all the nine provinces with winners of the respective 16-team leagues from each province squaring up in a mini-league group of two.

The winners of each group both gain automatic promotion to the GladAfrica Championship but will square off in a final for the R1m cheque reserved for champions with another half-a-million going to the runners up.

The majority of the clubs have seven matches remaining to complete the season and produce provincial champions.