Premier Soccer League (PSL) chairman Dr Irvin Khoza has confirmed that the 2019-20 season will go ahead and where all games will be played.

The Absa Premiership and GladAfrica Championship was suspended since mid-March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The league chairman has since revealed that Gauteng will host all 16 Absa Premiership and GladAfrica Championship teams as they plan to resume the 2019-20 season.

Khoza also confirmed that the South African Football Association (Safa) has to approve their schedule for matches in order for all football in the country to resume.

‘All 32 clubs will be placed in the bubble in Gauteng,’ Khoza said at a news conference on Monday.

‘KZN and North West were close contenders to host the bubble but the PSL found that Gauteng has the biggest advantage.

‘What we have done is submitted the dates but not announced them in public. We cannot announce them, we have prepared them and supplied them to Safa.

‘They have taken them to the meeting with compliance officers [Monday morning] and will then give an update.’

He added: ‘We have put saving lives first, in fact, our whole approach is governed by this all-important health factor.

‘The NSL alerted sponsors and broadcasters that the season would be completed at the end of August, it was in working back from this date in the requirement of at least six weeks to complete the fixtures.

‘The 32 clubs of the NSL further represented in the board of governors have met to address the challenges of Covid-19 under the circumstance where the very existence of their businesses are threatened.

‘Being in the entertainment business, and the fact that when we work it is called “playing”, has for some reason taken away the business and employment aspect of our game.

‘The NSL is essential in the South African economy, as an employer and business that sustains livelihoods. We do not play for fun. The so-called “playing” is a business.

‘The confusion around the dates, I must indicate that I had a few meetings with the president of Safa in dealing with these issues long before this controversy came about.

‘The six weeks required to end the season is not a thumbsuck, setting of dates for the fixtures is done in line with the NSL handbook that is recognised by the Safa statutes.

‘There is a meeting taking place between the Safa and PSL compliance officers to finalise, among other things, the availability of the match officials.’

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