You’ve probably heard people in a bar near you argue that the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is among the top 10 leagues in the world. Whether this is owing to revenue or the standard of football is still up for debate, but my guess is that it’s the former.
I am, however, beginning to wonder whether they are worthy of that grading any way following some embarrassing administrative blunders over the past two weeks or so. And yes, a lot of it has to do with the reigning Absa Premiership champions, Mamelodi Sundowns.
By now it is common knowledge that the PSL rejected a request from Sundowns to have their opening league fixture away to Maritzburg United postponed, but the clash went ahead regardless. The Brazilians were aggrieved, and you can understand why given their demanding CAF Champions League schedule, which included a trip to Ndola, Zambia where they faced ZESCO United three days after facing Maritzburg.
I'm merely bringing you up to speed. What raised my eyebrows and had me questioning the ‘top 10’ ranking came subsequent to this fuss about Sundowns. If you pay your local barman a visit, he will tell you he has had to listen to grumpy club supporters spewing drivel in the PSL’s direction, especially after the league was seen to bend over backwards to help Orlando Pirates in their continental glory hunt in 2013 and 2015.
Now that I have completely jogged your memory, I’m sad to inform you that Sundowns haven’t been the sweet angels they have been painted out to be. Of course they deserve more support from the PSL and this week that backing has come in the form of their neighbours SuperSport, who have had to move their home league match against Free State Stars on Saturday all the way to Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal.
All because the Brazilians failed to register an alternative venue for their Champions League matches in case the Lucas Moripe Stadium was unavailable.
Sundowns now have to rely on their cross town rivals to do them a solid despite the shameful scenes when the two sides met in an MTN8 quarter-final match late last month. The Brazilians, the home side on the day, warred with visitors SuperSport over who should occupy which change rooms, bench and which side of the field to warm-up on. What an embarrassment! And fast-forward to nearly a month later, and the Brazilians have to go back, hat in hand, asking the PSL and the same team they bullied before and during the match (winning 3-0 in that encounter) to help them secure a venue for the return leg against ZESCO this weekend.
How is it that a league that is apparently in the top 10 in the world is bombarded so many administrative bloopers? When I made a few phone calls to investigate this further, I was told, off the record, that I don’t even know the half of it. There’s clearly more to this and my guess is that the league and Sundowns might just air out some dirty laundry in the coming weeks, especially if the Brazilians don’t go all the way and win the Champions League.
Follow Mazola Molefe on Twitter@superjourno
The Star