SA Football Association acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe says separate letters sent by the sports ministry to the association and Premier Soccer League derailed co-operation between the two on a return to football.
Motlanthe said the letters — one to the PSL approving its plan for a return to play and instructing the league on compliance issues on June 28‚ and the other to Safa on July 5 clarifying that the mother body is in charge of the process — “created huge confusion”.
The PSL board of governors meets on Monday to discuss the feasibility of an August 1 kickoff and completion of the league by the August 31 deadline.
Motlanthe was asked how he sees the communication lines in an often painful process between mother body Safa and the PSL finding a way for football to return.
“For the JLC [joint liaison committee] to sit‚ it was after the Safa president [Danny Jordaan] had met with the minister [Nathi Mthethwa] and the chair of the league [Irvin Khoza] saying that football needed to develop a one-voice policy‚” Motlanthe said.
“The JLC was very successful. We succeeded in getting the communication and we knew that the communication was fine up until the government started communicating with us [Safa and the PSL] in a different way.
“You have a letter which the president [Jordaan] only became aware of when he met with the chair [Khoza].
“There were meetings that were held at the DG [sports ministry director-general Vusumuzi Mkhize] level where he would meet with me and the league CEO‚ and the minister‚ when he wanted a meeting‚ would meet with the Safa president and the league chair.
“That was how communication was handled until those two letters came and really brought huge confusion.
“Because now the PSL says‚ ‘Whatever we are doing we are basing it on the letter of the 28th‚ and they are ignoring the letter which came on the 5th‚ which says the association must oversee the process.”
Fifa allows for the 2019-20 season to go past August 31‚ but the PSL has said such an extension is unfeasible due to financial constraints.
Two letters from government created huge confusion, says Safa CEO Motlanthe
Image: SAFA
SA Football Association acting CEO Tebogo Motlanthe says separate letters sent by the sports ministry to the association and Premier Soccer League derailed co-operation between the two on a return to football.
Motlanthe said the letters — one to the PSL approving its plan for a return to play and instructing the league on compliance issues on June 28‚ and the other to Safa on July 5 clarifying that the mother body is in charge of the process — “created huge confusion”.
The PSL board of governors meets on Monday to discuss the feasibility of an August 1 kickoff and completion of the league by the August 31 deadline.
Motlanthe was asked how he sees the communication lines in an often painful process between mother body Safa and the PSL finding a way for football to return.
“For the JLC [joint liaison committee] to sit‚ it was after the Safa president [Danny Jordaan] had met with the minister [Nathi Mthethwa] and the chair of the league [Irvin Khoza] saying that football needed to develop a one-voice policy‚” Motlanthe said.
“The JLC was very successful. We succeeded in getting the communication and we knew that the communication was fine up until the government started communicating with us [Safa and the PSL] in a different way.
“You have a letter which the president [Jordaan] only became aware of when he met with the chair [Khoza].
“There were meetings that were held at the DG [sports ministry director-general Vusumuzi Mkhize] level where he would meet with me and the league CEO‚ and the minister‚ when he wanted a meeting‚ would meet with the Safa president and the league chair.
“That was how communication was handled until those two letters came and really brought huge confusion.
“Because now the PSL says‚ ‘Whatever we are doing we are basing it on the letter of the 28th‚ and they are ignoring the letter which came on the 5th‚ which says the association must oversee the process.”
Fifa allows for the 2019-20 season to go past August 31‚ but the PSL has said such an extension is unfeasible due to financial constraints.
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