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‘Change In Season’s Timing Can Help Bafana’

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12 years ago

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South African FA president Kirsten Nematandani believes the proposed change to the timing of the country’s football season can aid Bafana Bafana.

Changes may see the season switch from August-to-May to a calendar year.

This is to assist local clubs in African competition, but Nematandani says it can also help the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.

“The players will be able to focus on the national team since they are on a break from the league,” he said.

South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) is considering making the switch in 2014, as it tries to find a way to improve the performances of local clubs in African competition.

Stanley Matthews, the CEO of the PSL, says South Africans teams are weakened by having to register players for Caf competitions in mid-January, which is in the middle of the local season.

“Our clubs are seriously disadvantaged because by the time they get to the group stages of the continental competitions, there are two (transfer) window periods that would have passed where some players have left,” he told Tidesports source.

Even though no South African side has reached the group stages of the African Champions League since Orlando Pirates in 2006, the view is shared by a coach who has won four PSL championships.

“The proposed timing switch will certainly help our teams with their campaigns in the African club competitions,” Moroka Swallows coach Gordon Igesund said.

“We’ve had problems in the past with registering new signings and having to replace players who leave during the off-season.”

Igesund also believes that playing the season through the winter rather than the summer months will benefit local players.

“Playing in the summer months where temperatures in places like Durban and Polokwane, for example, can reach up to 40 degrees is also dangerous and the water breaks we have during each half doesn’t really help,” he said.

“In many cases the players can’t play at their optimum level because it’s simply too hot to do so but that problem could be alleviated by starting games a few hours later,” he added.

Meanwhile, Nematandani was swift to dismiss concerns that it would be too cold to attend many games during the winter months, as many fans found while watching the 2010 World Cup.

For many matches at the first World Cup on African soil, visiting fans complained of being bitterly cold.

“It won’t be an issue. During the World Cup, we went to matches in the night but in the PSL, the games will be played in the day (which is warmer),” Nematandani said Sport.

While the South African FA chief believes finishing the season at the end of a calendar year can help the national side, PSL organisers have other reasons for changing the timing.

They believe that the league is disrupted by the six-week break which comes about every two years as a number of players leave to take part in the competition.

Igesund is not perturbed by the break, one which is scheduled to next take place in 2013 as South Africa itself hosts the finals.

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CAFCC: Enyimba International In Pot 3 For Draws

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1 week ago

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September 26, 2024

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African soccer governing body has released the pots for the qualified teams for the group stage of the Confederation Cup, Tidesports sources reports.
Enyimba International is among the 16 qualified teams for the group stage of the competition.
The People’s Elephant was placed in pot 3 alongside ASJaaraf, CS Constantine; Bravos Do Maquils, Lunda Suliat, Orapa United, Black Bulls, and Stellenbosch. Pot 1 consists of Zamalek, RS Berkane, Simba SC, and USM Algers while Pot 2 has ASEC Mimosa, Stade Malien, Al Masry, and CS Sfaxien.

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AFCON 2025 Qualifiers : Super Eagles Host Libya, Oct 11

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1 week ago

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September 26, 2024

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria will host the Mediterranean Knights of Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matchday three encounter at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday, October 11.
The two teams will clash in a matchday four encounter at the Tripoli International Stadium four days later.
The Super Eagles started their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 home win against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic.
The three-time African champions were held to 0-0 draw by the Amavubi of Rwanda in their second group game.The West Africans occupy top spot in Group D with four points from two games.
Libya are bottom of the group after amassing one point from two games.
Only the top teams in each group will advance to the tournament proper in Morocco beginning in December 2025.
Meanwhile, Libya has opted to host Group D leaders Nigeria at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Matchday 4 encounter. The facility is located in the city of Benina, some 19 kilometres outside the country’s second city, Benghazi.
Known previously as Hugo Chávez Stadium, the stadium is a 10,000-capacity facility with an artificial turf.
Both countries will do a Matchday 3 battle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday, 11th October, before the clash in the city at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, 15th October.
While the match in Uyo will kick off at 5pm, the battle in Benina will commence at 8pm Nigeria time.
Libya remain bottom of Group D after two rounds of matches, following a 1-1 at home to Rwanda (a game that was played at the Tripoli International Stadium) and a 1-2 loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan.
Nigeria tops the pool with four points, after a 3-0 spanking of Benin Republic in Uyo on Matchday 1 and a scoreless draw with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Kigali on Matchday 2.

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NYG: Kano Athletes Protest Over Allowances In Asaba

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1 week ago

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September 26, 2024

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Kano State athletes, who participated in the concluded 8th edition of the National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, Delta State, last Friday called on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to address the issue of their poor camp allowances.
The athletes, speaking anonymously, expressed dissatisfaction with the daily allowance they received, claiming it was significantly lower than that of their counterparts from neighbouring Northwestern states.
“We were given less than N20,000 for ten days, while athletes from Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara received N50,000. Jigawa athletes were paid the highest, receiving N80,000,” one of the athletes said.
Despite the disparity in allowances, the athletes secured five gold, three silver, and one bronze in the competition.
They urged the governor to intervene and resolve the issue.
Also, the athletes commended the Kano State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, for supporting other athletes representing the state in sports like football and basketball and hoped for similar support.
The objective of the National Youth Games, initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, is to promote unity, peace, and understanding among youths while addressing issues of restiveness and unemployment across the country.

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