Safa chief executive Lydia Monyepao says the football mother body would like to see the number of professional teams in the country increase so the hidden talent can have a platform. 

SA has 32 professional football teams that come from the DStv Premiership and Motsepe Foundation Championship. In March, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro said the PSL couldn’t accommodate the top talent the country has to offer, mentioning that teams in the second- and third-tier have quality players that can match those from the Premiership.

Speaking to Sowetan following yesterday’s Motsepe League national playoffs draw at Safa House, Monyepao said they dream of seeing more professional teams but the PSL has the final say on that matter.

“That will depend on what the PSL will say, if they feel they can stretch the league to more teams than what currently they have, it’s their prerogative,” said Monyepao 

“We, as an association, would love to make it happen but we can’t dictate to the PSL. For us, the more professional teams that are out there mean that we get an opportunity to give more players a chance to taste quality and competitive football regularly.

“As I said, it’s not for us as an association to dictate what must happen on a professional level, it’s not our area,” she said. 

This year’s playoffs will take place from June 6 to 11 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where nine of SA’s nine provinces will be represented. The playoffs will start in the round-robin stage with three groups of three teams. The winners of the groups go to the semifinal with the best runner-up clinching the last spot. The semis' winners will go to the final and secure promotion to the NFD.  

All provinces except for the Free State have a team confirmed. The side from Free State will be determined after a hearing between two teams vying for a spot in the playoffs.

Monyepao said this was an Achilles heel for the league. 

“It’s quite unfortunate that this happens year-in-and-year-out; where in some instances the playoffs happen and then the losing club comes forward with a matter that was not raised before the playoffs happened. It’s more of an Achilles heel for us because we would want a clean league where everyone accepts the outcome,” said the Safa boss.

Playoff groups:

Group A: Dondol Stars (Gauteng),  Umsinga United (KwaZulu-Natal) and a club from Free State.

Group B:  Amavarara (Eastern Cape), Young Bafana (Western Cape) and Upington City (Northern Cape).

Group C: Orbit College (North West), Mlambo Royal Cubs (Mpumalanga) and Mpheni Home Defenders (Limpopo)