The first two fixtures of the Premier Soccer League restart – pending approval from the government – have all but been confirmed.
With all 32 member clubs sitting in on a virtual board of governors meeting that lasted more than five hours on Thursday, the Siya crew has been informed that the Nedbank Cup semi-finals will kick start the resumption of the 2019/20 campaign.
The date, as reported by this website last weekend, remains July 18 and 19, though the government will still have to give the greenlight.
Bidvest Wits will face Mamelodi Sundowns, while Baroka FC take on Bloemfontein Celtic in the two matches set to get things underway.
It is understood, however, that there could also be a stand-off with the SA Football Association as the motherbody remains adamant that football should only resume at level 1 of the country's lockdown Covid-19 regulations.
The PSL and SAFA have been at loggerheads over who should facilitate the return to football since the season was halted nearly four months ago when the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic first emerged.
Recently, the two bodies have been bickering over who should be the compliance officer to grant clubs permission to return to training after SAFA chief medical officer Thulani Ngwenya was first appointed in that role.
The PSL then subsequently appointed lawyer Michael Murphy, and with SAFA irked by the call, Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa ordered that the motherbody oversee the protocol to the return to football under Ngwenya's watch.
It's expected then, that although the PSL has set the ball rolling and picked July 19 as the date, it will take some convincing for SAFA to approve!
