Schloss gives green light to 16 venues chosen to host remaining PSL matches of the season

Premier Soccer League (PSL) senior official Professor Ronnie Schloss says the 16 venues chosen to host the remaining matches of the season are ready and have been given the green light.

The season‚ which was suspended in mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic‚ resumes this weekend with a Nedbank Cup semifinal double-header that will see Baroka FC face Bloemfontein Celtic‚ and Mamelodi Sundowns up against Bidvest Wits at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

While some of the stadiums were not regularly maintained for the better part of the lockdown as workers stayed at home‚ Schloss was unfazed and insisted that there is nothing to worry about.

“All the venues have been approved and it’s all systems go to complete the season.

"You must remember that we are not going to play on any new venues‚ so they will be ready‚” said a confident Schloss who did not want to elaborate further on the logistics.

Most of the venues hosted matches before the break and facilities like FNB Stadium‚ Orlando Stadium‚ Lucas Moripe Stadium‚ Loftus‚ Bidvest Stadium‚ Dobsonville Stadium and Tuks Stadium are not expected to face too many challenges.

It has been some time since Ellis Park hosted a football match but the stadium was fully operational before the suspension of sport with the Lions playing their Super Rugby matches there.

The facilities manager at University of Pretoria‚ Garfield Theunis‚ said the Tuks Stadium is in pristine condition and it is ready to host both the PSL and National First Division (NFD) matches.

“Our facilities are ready and in very good condition to welcome the teams next week. We got a certificate to be classified as essential services during the lockdown where we worked with skeleton staff and followed the health and safety guidelines.

"That has helped us a great deal because we managed to keep our facilities in good condition‚” he said.

Makhulong Stadium‚ Rand Stadium‚ Tuks Stadium‚ Sturrock Park‚ Wits Rugby Stadium and UJ Soweto Campus Stadium have been used by the GladAfrica Championship for matches or training purposes.

Makhulong and Tuks Stadiums are used by Highlands Park and University of Pretoria while Rand Stadium is sometimes used by Orlando Pirates as their training venue.

Sturrock Park is used by Wits as their training venue.

Wits and UJ Stadiums are used by their university teams in the Varsity Cup.