PSL reportedly meeting next week to discuss options

by Graeme Jackson

Saturday May 02, 2020. 13:00

The Premier Soccer League stakeholders will reportedly hold a video conference meeting next week to discuss options for the suspended 2019-20 season.

According to Soccer Laduma, the meeting will take place on Thursday 7 May and clarify the course of action which will be taken by the PSL.

South Africa has only recently allowed minor relaxations following a five-week lockdown in which stringent measures were enforced to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The country has put into place five different levels of alert in regards to the coronavirus crisis, moving down to level 4 from Friday 1 May. None of the levels allow for public gatherings, though it is hoped that professional leagues will be able to complete their schedules with matches behind closed doors if they have government’s cooperation.

Previously, PSL chairman Irvin Khoza said the PSL would hope to complete its schedule by June 30, but the landscape has changed since that declaration in March and there remains the possibility that the season could be scrapped entirely.

Major leagues in Europe, such as those in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, have already taken this drastic action, though the likes of the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Premier League are gearing up for possible resumptions in May and June.

The board of governors for the PSL is reportedly favouring a completion of the campaign, and Thursday’s meeting could reveal how and when such a plan is put into place.