WEDNESDAY, 1.30PM:
THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Wednesday released its congested fixture list for the 1997/98 season and apparently left no space for the annual Four Nations Cup tournament.
PSL’s representative Andrew Dipela said the league will not change the fixture list to accommodate the Four Nations Cup.
Meanwhile, South African Football Association general manager Dennis Mumble insisted that the tournament will take place from October 1 to 6 and will be played in venues like Thohoyandou and Mmabatho. “The sponsors are putting final touches on this year’s competition and it will definitely take place,” said Mumble.
Dipela said the PSL fixtures start this weekend and will finish next May so as to give the national squad enough time to prepare for France, should Bafana Bafana qualify for the World Cup finals. “We have not made provisions for the Four Nations because from our point of view it serves no purpose and if we allow it to go ahead, might drag our season into June next year,” he said. “This will leave our national squad with very litle time to prepare for the World Cup.”
Dipela said the league has only left dates for very important friendly matches.