South African football is to throw its weight behind a bid to persuade Africa to come into line with the European soccer calendar.

In an unusual show of unity, the South African Football Association and the Premier Soccer League will jointly approach CAF in the hope of resolving one of the most contentious issues in the game: club vs country.

At the heart of the problem is the soccer calendar.

When the PSL was established in 1996, South Africa fell in line with the European calendar - which runs from August to May - to ensure that South African players based in Europe are easily available for Bafana Bafana internationals.

The CAF calendar runs from January to December, which creates problems with the Nations Cup, which is staged every two years in January-February.

It has led to a 10-week break in the South African league. It also affects European clubs, especially those in England, who have recently been reluctant to sign African players because they stand to lose them to Nations Cup call-ups at a crucial stage of the season.

Safa and the PSL have formed a joint task team to approach CAF in the hope of resolving the issue.

Safa CEO Robin Petersen said the association hoped to persuade other national associations in Africa to join them in the bid.

"The issue of club versus country is a global one, it is not only affecting us in South Africa," said Petersen.

"The problem was that the PSL calendar clashed with the one in Europe. It was difficult getting players based in Europe to come and play for Bafana Bafana at that time. Some of the clubs in Europe refused to release them," he said.

If CAF rejects the plan to switch to the European league times, South Africa will consider reverting to the African calendar.

"Now that we have a Fifa mandatory calendar, we either have to align with the one for CAF or remain with the European one," said Petersen.

"We [Safa and PSL] are talking to CAF hoping it will also align with the European calendar. It is also the preference of the majority of the leagues on the continent.

"It is either we align with the CAF calendar or continue following the European one.

"We hope the engagements with CAF and the [other African] leagues will finally bring to an end the club-versus-country problem."

Following the goalless draw with Equatorial Guinea last Friday in Bata City, Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane pleaded with Safa and the PSL to end the club-versus-country debacle.

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza announced last month that the league was considering going back to the January-December calendar.

"Our clubs will also have enough time to plan for CAF competitions," he said. "We will also be able to sign players at the beginning of the year if we are to go back to the January-December calendar."