While the exact date to restart the PSL in South Africa is yet to be confirmed, Irvin Khoza, the chairman of the PSL, shed some light on how the conclusion of both the Premiership and the Championship will play out.
The 32 teams – 16 from each division – will all be based in Gauteng and all fixtures will be held at selected venues. While the venues haven’t been officially confirmed yet, local media reported that the? FNB Stadium, Orlando Stadium, Dobsonville Stadium, Rand Stadium, Makhulong Stadium, Ellis Park, Bidvest Stadium, Loftus Versveld, Lucas Moripe Stadium, University of Pretoria and Tsakane Stadium will most likely be used for competitive fixtures once the PSL returns.
The Nedbank Cup semi-final matches featuring Mamelodi Sundowns, Bidvest Wits, Bloemfontein Celtic and Baroka FC will also take place when the season resumes.
To create a safe environment and mitigate risk, the 32 teams will be placed in a “bio bubble” for the estimated six weeks the league has given itself to complete the season.
Clubs will be responsible for covering the costs themselves. The PSL will, however, assist struggling clubs to an extent. Clubs in South Africa’s top two divisions receive monthly grants from the PSL, according to local site Soccer Laduma. In order to cover any shortfall, the PSL will be spending around R130 million up front to assist cash-strapped clubs and then recoup the monies in future.
The bio bubble will allow for a maximum of 50 people per club to live in isolation for the duration of the completion of the league. Players and staff will also be required to have two tests.
“There is no continuous testing. There are two testings; there is a first testing [which has been completed already] and a second testing 48 hours before going to the bio-bubble,” Khoza told the media this week.
Teams will have to pay the costs for those tests as well as hotel accommodation themselves.
According to Soccer Laduma, tests will cost R850 each per person while accommodation will be around R1379 per night.
That would mean any club with a full contingent of staff will have to fork out over R2.5 million for the duration.
The chart below shows the amount in Rands that teams will spend with the figure at the base of the chart being the number of people entering the so-called ‘bio bubble’. Even with a completely unrealistic number of 15 people, the amount of money to conclude the league will be astronomical for clubs.
PSL restart costs in numbers
