Setback for ABC Motsepe teams

The ABC Motsepe League programme is not likely to resume on 1 October as anticipated. This follows a communique that the South African Football Association (SAFA) had received from the government this week.

Upon receiving the letter, SAFA immediately relayed the information to their club members. In their letter directed to the provincial secretaries and members of the competitions committee, SAFA has warned the clubs to stop with their training sessions as a matter of urgency.

According to the letter, of which the Limpopo Mirror has a copy, the government published some regulations last week that prohibit all participants in non-professional football from training before undergoing Covid-19 testing. In the letter, SAFA states that, after scrutinizing the contents of the letter from the government, it became clear to them that non-professional football could not take place before the country moved to lockdown level 1.

“The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Mr Nathi Mthethwa, has published regulations on 28 August 2020 which stipulate, inter alia that all participants in non-professional football must undergo Covid-19 testing before resumption and further that the playoffs should take place in a bio bubble safe environment.

“ABC Motsepe League clubs will therefore be informed through the provincial secretaries that, until then, there should not be any resumption of training or matches. The only permitted activity is for players to train on their own at home in order to maintain the level of fitness for when non-professional football does resume,” reads an extract from the letter.

The latest developments mean that the ABC Motsepe League will not be able to promote teams to the GladAfrica Championship Division this season. The Premier Soccer League has already announced that the activities for their new season are scheduled to start over the weekend of 10 and 11 October.

The chairman of the board of governors in the Limpopo’s Stream of the ABC Motsepe League, Mr Mighty Tjale, described the latest developments as a huge setback to the clubs. 

Date:10 September 2020

By: Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

Read: 714