'Postponing fixtures to accommodate Afcon was the right thing to do' - PSL

The break for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon is one of the major reasons for the fixture congestion in the Premier Soccer League calendar this year that could have a major bearing on the destination of the league title.

But PSL spokesman Luxolo September says it was the right thing to do and has been backed up by two prominent coaches from within the league‚ though they present a different perspective on how the league might have eased the congestion.

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Potentially valuable time in the season has been lost with the six-week break for the Nations Cup‚ even though had matches continued through the championship they would have lost key players Khama Billiat and Denis Onyango for those.

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September says it is the duty of the league to respect Africa’s showpiece football competition and says it was never a consideration to play on through.

“We have answered this question so many times over the last two months‚” he told Times Media Digital.

“Frankly‚ and this is just a view‚ I don’t understand why we are asking this question.

“Imagine this scenario: we have the biggest tournament in the African continent underway and the PSL‚ one of Africa’s biggest Leagues and a global ambassador for the continent‚ continues playing.

“We are Africans‚ we are part of this beautiful continent and we understand our responsibility to the continent.

"We are the only League that was so widely represented at the Nations Cup without having our national team there.”

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For clubs who gave players to the tournament‚ the desire to stop is understandable‚ but Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has backed the break despite his club not being represented.

“I agree with the decision to take a break over the Nations Cup‚ I believe that is only fair to the teams who have players there‚” he says.

“It was not just one or two players who went‚ but quite a lot.

"I accept that it was necessary to call a halt to our league.

“Where I do think the PSL could do more to catch up is to play games on weekends designated to the latter stages of cup competitions.

"We played the Telkom Knockout final on a Saturday [in December]‚ and the league could have scheduled matches for the Friday and Sunday to ease the pressure.

“The same goes for the Nedbank Cup when you have the quarterfinals and the semifinals.

"Those weekends could be used by teams who have already been knocked out of the competition.

"Maybe then we would not see such a backlog.”

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September says this is very much on the cards and has actually already been done this season.

"We have on a number of occasions played league matches on cup weekends this season and could do so again during the Nedbank Cup.

"Once a team and their opponent has dropped out of the Nedbank Cup‚ if there is the potential for them to play on a 'cup weekend'‚ then we will utilise that."

Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson‚ whose side also did not have players in Gabon‚ also has no problem with the break for the Nations Cup.

But he questions the need to stop over the festive season as well‚ saying it is more valuable time lost.

“I question whether we need to have the festive season break as well‚ knowing that we were stopping for the Nations Cup‚ could we not have played on through?

“That is at least two weekends lost over that period‚ plus maybe some midweek matches.

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"This is normal in quite a few leagues in Europe where they play through the Christmas and New Year period.

“Then we would have stopped for Nations Cup in early January when the players needed to be released for their countries.

"The players that are not going get a rest then.”

September says this was one of the ideas discussed by the PSL when looking for solutions to their fixture crunch‚ but they felt there were better alternatives.

"We thought about a lot of possible solutions and this was one of them‚" he says.

"But at the end of the day we cannot implement all of the ideas‚ we try and get as close as we can to what we think is the best solution‚ and that is what we believe we have done."

- TMG Digital