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Partizan head coach Savo Milosevic hailed the club's supporters after fans flocked to watch the Serbian Cup holders upstage bitter rivals Red Star Belgrade following the coronavirus pandemic.

Serbian football resumed behind closed doors on May 29 but there were no restrictions on crowd numbers on Wednesday as defending champions Partizan beat neighbours Red Star 1-0 in the semi-finals.

A near 25,000 capacity crowd watched Partizan move a step closer to a fifth successive Serbian Cup crown following Bibras Natcho's 58th-minute winner at Stadion Partizana midweek.

"I thank the fans for their fantastic support and it was great to grind out this win in front of a full house," Milosevic said.

"Having that kind of support was absolutely imperative today. It was great to see a near-capacity crowd after such a long barren spell."

After a limited number of fans watched Red Star rout Radnik Surdulica 4-1 on Saturday, a full house greeted Dejan Stankovic's men in the Serbian capital.

Red Star have already wrapped up a third consecutive league title, but they were denied a first league and cup double since 2006-07.

Milosevic, who was appointed last year and claimed the Serbian Cup in his first season, added: "I think we did pretty well in a very tough match and reaffirmed that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

"It was tense, tempers flared here and there but no one crossed any lines and credit to Red Star too for their sportsmanlike behaviour."

Seven-time champions Partizan will face Vojvodina in the final on June 24.

While football is returning to normal in Serbia, the game is only just restarting across Europe and the big five leagues. 

Though the Bundesliga resumed last month, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A are only set to resume in the coming week with no fans to be allowed into games for some time. 

The Ligue 1 season, meanwhile, was abandoned completely, much to the dismay of Lyon, who will now miss out on a place in European competitions next season. 

The Premier League has confirmed one fresh coronavirus case from its latest round of testing.

With play in England set to resume in a week after a three-month break due to the pandemic, 14 players or staff have been found to be carrying the virus, which has infected close to 300,000 people in the UK with over 41,000 losing their lives.

The latest round of testing took place on June 8 and 9, with 1,213 players and club staff tested – the most extensive of the seven rounds to date.

No details have emerged on the person to be found positive for the virus.

The news comes only 48 hours after Manchester United were forced to cancel a training match against Stoke City after visiting manager Michael O’Neill tested positive for coronavirus.

A closed-door match had been expected to take place between the sides but news filtered through of O’Neill’s positive test when the Stoke players were present at United’s Carrington training ground. 

"Stoke City can confirm that manager Michael O'Neill has tested positive for the Covid-19 virus following the latest round of testing on Monday (June 8)," the club said in a statement. "O'Neill had tested negative in the previous five rounds of testing.

"He will now follow the relevant guidance and undergo a period of isolation, whilst continuing to be in regular virtual contact with his coaching staff and players.

"Assistant manager Billy McKinlay will take charge of training as the Potters prepare for their game against Reading on June 20.

"The Club will be making no further comment on this matter."

Meanwhile, play is set to resume in the Premier League on June 17, with Aston Villa playing host to Sheffield United before Manchester City tackle Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Most teams have nine matches of the league season remaining, with leaders Liverpool only six points short of claiming a maiden title of the Premier League era.

The Reds’ quest to secure the title will resume against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, June 21.

The league's break dates back to March 9, when Leicester beat Aston Villa 4-0 at home in the final game before the coronavirus forced the suspension of the season.

Eintracht Frankfurt will have Black Lives Matter emblazoned across the front of their jerseys during Wednesday's DFB-Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich in a show of solidarity for the movement.

Protests have swept across the United States and beyond in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

The demonstrations began in Minneapolis shortly after, with protests beginning in all 50 states throughout the last two weeks.

Additionally, those demonstrations have gone worldwide, with similar displays occurring in England, Germany, Australia and a number of other countries.

Many sports clubs and institutions around the world have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) cause in the weeks since.

Bayern wore BLM armbands during their 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, while all 22 players from Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin took a knee in the centre-circle before their fixture.

Additionally, individual players have also taken part in displays of their own with Schalke's Weston McKennie and Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram joining Borussia Dortmund stars Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi in sending their own messages shortly after Floyd's death.

Frankfurt will make a statement of their own in Wednesday's cup semi at the Allianz Arena, with '#BlackLivesMatter' to take precedence over the usual shirt sponsor, which will be smaller and below the anti-discrimination message.

Board member Axel Hellmann said: "We have to point this out again and again, and also use the power and reach of football to forcefully deliver this important message to the world.

"The history of Eintracht Frankfurt is shaped by cosmopolitanism and international understanding. These attributes are strongly anchored in the Eintracht DNA. Racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and homophobia have no place within the Eintracht family and must not have a place in a liberal society."

Sporting director Fredi Bobic added: "As a team and as Eintracht Frankfurt, we stand together against all forms of racism and want to convey it accordingly."

The winner of Wednesday's DFB-Pokal match will face off with Bayer Leverkusen in the final after Tuesday's three-goal victory over Saarbrucken.

That final is scheduled to be held on July 4 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Leganes centre-back Kenneth Omeruo has urged his teammates to be more focused when they host Real Valladolid in an empty Estadio Municipal de Butarque on Saturday.

La Liga will restart on June 11, almost three months after sporting activities in Spain were suspended due to the coronavirus which broke out in March.

Leganes find themselves struggling against relegation as they are placed 19th in the league table with 23 points after 27 matches.

Ahead of their first game on Saturday, Omeruo believes Javier Aguirre’s side can still maintain their top-flight status in the absence of their fans.

“We are playing without our fans at home so we must be more focused, but I think it could work in our favour, I hope it does,” the Nigeria international told the club website.

“Our chances are more or less the same. We have to grab it, we have the opportunity to avoid relegation and we are working hard to achieve it.

“I think right now is better to follow the instructions of La Liga because it is still risky. We love our fans and we love them at Butarque but right now safety is more important. We will try to give them the best results while they watch from home.”

The 26-year-old revealed an area Leganes are working to correct ahead of their return to action.

“Set pieces are difficult because sometimes you make a little mistake or your teammate doesn’t cover a player and you get scored or sometimes you may miss a player but nothing happens, so we have been unlucky before with set pieces. We are working hard to correct that,” he added.

La Liga clubs resumed training sessions a few weeks ago after clubs conducted coronavirus tests for their staff and players.

Prior to the return, Omeruo explained how he coped with his family during the lockdown period in Spain.

“It has been difficult especially for my wife that could not go out," he said.

"I usually go out mostly to get groceries and then get back home. It has been difficult because nobody expected such a thing to happen, but I am happy with the way it is being managed in Spain.

“A lot of people have followed the curfew and stayed at home and everything has been done. I am happy to be back doing what we love, playing football."

Kenya's Ayub Timbe featured for Reading FC in a 1-0 friendly loss against Premier League side Chelsea at Cobham.

Chelsea won the tie at their training ground as they continue to prepare for their match against Aston Villa on June 21.

The only goal of the Wednesday encounter was scored by Pedro as he struck in the first half in favour of Frank Lampard's Chelsea who are in a race to keep their top-four position.

Reading will host Stoke City on June 20 as soccer activities are set for resumption in England.

Chelsea loanee Matt Miazga featured in the friendly encounter while there was a Cobham return for John Swift, a former Chelsea star. 

Meanwhile, Timbe's teammate Matt Miazga has revealed they have had tough training sessions since the return in late May.

“We came back to do individual training a bit earlier. We’ve been put to the test, training really hard… and it’s been hot during these past few weeks! The weather has probably pushed us a bit. We’re fit now, and we’ll keep getting fitter,” Miazga told the club's website.

“I’ve dealt with playing in hot summer months before in MLS – there is nothing like playing in Orlando or Houston with a 4 pm kick-off, humidity, heat, everything in the middle of July and August!

“I haven’t done it in a while, but I’m sure it won’t be too bad. We’re getting used to it and we’ll have some evening kick-offs.”

The defender added Reading will need to fight for maximum points in the remaining matches.

“We are going to need the whole squad – we’ve got a lot of good players and we’ll all be ready to contribute to play a big part in this push for the next nine games,” Miazga continued.

“It’ll be one game at a time. There are nine games, and anything is possible in this league – you’ve seen it throughout the years! For us, we’ll focus first on Stoke City and take it one game at a time, and see where it takes us.”

Timbe and teammates are 14th on the table with 48 points with only goal difference separating them from Sheffield Wednesday.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and fans have paid tributes to former Super Eagles coach Shuaibu Amodu, who passed away four years ago.

He died on June 10, 2006, at the age of 58, three days after another Nigerian legend and former coach, Stephen Keshi was laid to rest.

Amodu is regarded as one of the greatest Nigerian coaches, giving his impact and contribution to the national team during his time.

He went into coaching after his playing career was abruptly ended at the age of 23, owing to a broken leg and was named the Super Eagles manager six times.

Until his death, Amodu was the national technical director and the NFF has taken to the social media to laud his contribution to the growth of football in the country.

“On this day four years ago, late coach Shuaibu Amodu departed this world. We miss you coachie, continue to rest in peace. Thank you for all your contributions to the development of Nigerian football. We remember Amodu.”

Amodu started his coaching career with BCC Lions, he also managed El-Kanemi Warriors and Shooting Stars of Ibadan.

During his time managing Nigerian clubs, he won the Federation Cup titles among other accolades and was deservedly named the national team coach in 1994, his first stint with the side.

Amodu, twice qualified the Super Eagles for the World Cup, in 2002 and 2010, the first Nigerian to achieve the feat but was denied a chance to lead the side to the global tournament.

His legacy and contribution to the development of Nigerian football lives on as fans continue to remember the Nigerian legend.

Young Africans (Yanga SC) coach Luc Eymael arrived in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday ready for the return of the Mainland Premier League.

The Belgian coach, who relocated to his native country after the top-flight was halted in mid-March owing to the coronavirus pandemic, touched down at the Julius Nyerere Airport in Dar es Salaam at 1.30 pm after a gruelling trip that took him to Germany, Frankfurt Airport and a stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Eymael's arrival came just a day after Yanga travelled to Shinyanga in readiness for their first league match against Mwadui on Saturday.

However, Goal understands there were no Yanga officials at the airport to receive the coach, who has on many occasions accused the club of not facilitating his quick return to Tanzania.

A source who was at the airport told Goal: “I was at the airport and no one from Yanga showed up to pick their coach despite knowing he was due to arrive from Belgium.

“The coach also looked disappointed after realising there was no one to pick him up. It is actually a well-wisher who called out a taxi for him and it is what he used to move from the airport to the hotel.”

Eymael will most likely miss the team’s first match in Shinyanga as the rest of the squad had already travelled on Wednesday via a flight.

Yanga assistant coach Boniface Mkwasa, who is sitting in for the former Black Leopards coach, is confident they will return to Dar es Salaam with maximum points.

“We have worked hard to rectify a few mistakes which cropped up during our defeat to KMC in a friendly and I am sure the boys are ready to take on Mwadui and return home with maximum points,” Mkwasa told reporters.

“We are missing a number of players the likes of Morrison, who is left behind because of domestic issues but I am confident the squad we have will win the match.

“I also want to say that Mwadui is a good team, we will not underrate them as they will be playing at home but Yanga is also a big team which never mind whether playing home or away, the most important thing is to win the match.”

Yanga will face Mwadui at Kambarage Stadium on Saturday.

Arsenal were beaten 3-2 by Brentford on Wednesday during a behind closed doors friendly at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners return to Premier League action in exactly one week’s time when they travel to Manchester City and they stepped up their preparations for that fixture with a second warm-up game against Championship opposition in the space of just four days.

On Saturday Arsenal eased to a 6-0 win against Charlton Athletic at the Emirates, with Eddie Nketiah scoring a hat-trick and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Joe Willock also finding the target.

But Mikel Arteta’s side found things a lot more difficult against promotion-chasing Brentford, who came from behind to win 3-2 in north London.

The result is hardly ideal ahead of next week’s game at the home of the Premier League champions, but Arteta will be far more interested in his players’ fitness levels at this stage of the restart plans.

Before kick-off, Arteta and his squad all took the knee and wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts in support of the movement that has swept around the world following the death of George Floyd in the United States.

Lacazette was on target against Charlton on Saturday and the France striker netted again during the second half against Brentford to continue his good goalscoring form.

But it was not enough to secure victory for the home side, who conceded three times after the interval.

Joe Willock had given Arsenal the lead in the first half, firing home a low cross while adding to his strike against Charlton, and the hosts went into the break 1-0 in front.

But Brentford responded well after the interval, with both teams fielding much-changed teams.

Lacazette did notch his second goal in as many games for the Gunners, but it was not enough for Arteta’s side to avoid defeat against their lower league visitors.

Brentford found goals from Tariqe Fosu, Halil Dervisoglu and Shandon Baptiste within the last 20 minute, with the latter two firing after Lacazette's finish saw Arsenal grab the lead one again.

Arsenal could look to play one more behind-closed-doors game this weekend before they get their league campaign restarted at Manchester City on Wednesday, June 17.

The Gunners then travel to Brighton on June 20 and Southampton on June 25 before taking on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in an FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday, June 28.

Arsenal’s first home game back at Emirates Stadium is against Norwich City on Wednesday, July 1.

Joseph Yobo, Daniel Amokachi, Seyi Olofinjana and a host of other football figures have paid tribute to late Shuaibu Amodu.

Amodu – the only coach to qualify Nigeria for the Fifa World Cup passed away in his sleep after complaining of chest pains on June 10, 2016.

His demise came three days after the death of Stephen Keshi who was his assistant to the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Mali.

At 36, he handled the country’s senior national team and was in charge of the Super Eagles’ 1-0 defeat to England in 1994 Wembley friendly.

He qualified Nigeria for the 2002 and 2010 Fifa World Cups. Unfortunately, he was denied the chance of leading the three-time African champions to the main event.

Amodu also had coaching stints with BCC Lions and El Kanemi Warriors where he won the Federation Cup. He also coached Shooting Stars and Orlando Pirates.

In 2013, he was named technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation.

With the world marking his fourth-year in remembrance of his passing, former Nigeria stars took to social media to pay respect.

Borussia Dortmund defender Achraf Hakimi has been nominated for the Bundesliga Player of the Month award for May.

The 21-year-old showed his versatility in Lucien Favre’s team with his defensive and attacking contributions that helped BVB secure three wins out of four leagues matches played last month, with their only defeat coming against Bayern Munich.

Hakimi faces competition from Bayern Munich duo Joshua Kimmich and Benjamin Pavard, Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz, Hoffenheim's Christoph Baumgartner and RB Leipzig's Timo Werner.

The Morocco international, who is on a two-year loan from Real Madrid, has contributed nine goals, including five in the Bundesliga and 10 assists this season.

During the month under review, Hakimi was officially named the fastest player in the Bundesliga after running at 36.49 km/h earlier this season and he managed to cover 35 kilometres per hour in May.

He played a crucial role when Dortmund resumed the 2019-20 league campaign against Schalke 04 by helping them to a comfortable 4-0 victory.

A week later, he sealed BVB's 2-0 win over Wolfsburg, and he followed it with a strike against struggling Paderborn away from the Signal Iduna Park.

Borussia Dortmund are second in the Bundesliga table with 63 points after 30 matches, seven points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

So far this season, Hakimi has featured in all 41 of BVB’s competitive matches this season and he will be hoping to play a part when they visit 16th-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday.

Hakimi’s impressive performances have made him a transfer target for several clubs and he admitted he has a decision to make about his future at the end of his loan in Germany.

"Who does not like it? I am proud of what I am doing," Hakimi told Cadena SER.

"In June I will have to make a decision and it will be a great step for my career. In theory, my contract ends in June and from there I have to return to Madrid.

"I have not yet had contact with Madrid on this matter, but I imagine that soon we will have some conversation to find out what is best for me."  

FIFA has confirmed three bids to host the Women's World Cup in 2023 have made it to the final stage of the process.

Proposals from Japan and Colombia have qualified, as has a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand.

The FIFA Council will hold an online meeting and vote on June 25 to select the successful bid for a tournament that will involve 32 nations for the first time.

FIFA's update came "following a detailed assessment of the bid books and visits to the bidding countries", as they published their Bid Evaluation Report.

"Three bids will be submitted to the FIFA Council in order for it to select the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 host(s)," added a statement from the governing body on Wednesday.

FIFA ranked the Australia-New Zealand bid as the "most commercially favourable" and the highest scoring overall with 4.1 points out of five. 

Japan (3.9) and Colombia (2.8) were behind, but both were over the required threshold and proceed to the vote.

The United States won the last Women's World Cup, which was hosted by France in 2019.

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: "One year after the record-breaking eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup in France, the FIFA Council will decide on the host(s) for the ninth edition of the tournament in 2023, which we hope will be even bigger and better. 

"The quality of the bids is testimony to the tremendous momentum women's football has generated.

"We are looking forward to building on this to take women's football to the next level at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023."

Brazil withdrew their proposal on Monday and will instead join the other South American nations in backing Colombia.

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said the current economic situation, fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic, was one of the reasons for its withdrawal.

It added that it would also be unfavoured due to hosting several big events in recent years, including the 2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics and 2019 Copa America.

South America has never hosted a Women's World Cup, while Asia has done so twice – in China in 1991 and 2007.

Ghana coach CK Akonnor is contemplating rotating the captain's armband in the wake of controversies over the role. 

Perpetually a subject of media discussion, the Black Stars leadership is currently held by Swansea City attacker Andre Ayew who dethroned veteran striker Asamoah Gyan under controversial circumstances last year ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Egypt.

Brazil are arguably the biggest national side to have rotated their armband in recent times.

“Sometimes this captaincy issue comes as a result of poor communication from management members or certain people trying to push their own agenda," Akonnor, who assumed duty as Ghana coach in January, told Happy FM.

“Looking at our current situation, I will propose we rotate the captain’s armband and also a general captain appointed to speak on behalf of the players.

"Brazil and other countries have made it work, so we can also emulate them.

“We should be careful or else this captaincy row can affect the national team for years to come."

Only a month to the last continental gathering in Egypt, the Black Stars were engulfed in controversy as Gyan - Ghana's leading striker - was stripped of the armband by then Ghana coach James Kwasi Appiah in favour of Ayew.

The displeased Gyan did not take the decision lying down as he sensationally announced his retirement from international duty and would only rescind his stance following a plea by national president Nana Akufo-Addo.

After changing his mind, Gyan was included in Appiah's final squad for the championship.

However, the 34-year-old was reduced to a peripheral figure at the tournament amid speculation of bad blood between him and the coach due to the captaincy issue as Ghana were eliminated in the Round of 16.

Inter Milan ace Kwadwo Asamoah was named deputy skipper of Black Stars ahead of Afcon but the defender has interestingly not been called up for national duty since the tournament.

Recent reports have linked Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Teye Partey to the armband.

Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri has told midfielder Miralem Pjanic that he must show the attitude of a great player if he is to retain his place in the coach’s first-team plans.

The 30-year-old has played 32 times in all competitions for the Turin giants this season, scoring three goals and laying on a further four.

His form before the coronavirus break, though, was a source of significant concern for Juve, with the midfielder lasting only 50 minutes before being replaced in a 2-1 away defeat to Napoli, while he flopped against former club Lyon in the Champions League, again being replaced prematurely in a 1-0 last-16 reverse.

Sarri expects better of a man linked with a summer move to Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain, however.

“Miralem is a fantastic player,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “He can't afford to underperform for four or five matches like he did. I spoke to him; he wasn't able to recover from some bad matches. 

“He needs to understand that he is a great player who can mistakes. He needs to react.”

Meanwhile, the former Chelsea and Napoli boss explained that he has a headache having two players of the quality of Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo on his books simply because they are so similar to one another.

“Dybala is a phenomenal player, although tactically it’s difficult to make him and Ronaldo coexist,” he admitted. “They can make a difference but it’s not easy for them to play together. But with the technical and physical qualities that they have, they can make the difference at any time.

“The team must adapt in both the defensive and attacking phase, but it is a pleasant headache to have.”

Juve are leading the way in Italy, though they are only a single point clear of Lazio, and though third-placed Inter are nine distant, the San Siro side have one match in hand. 

With that in mind, Sarri is refusing to take anything for granted.

“With 12 or 13 games to play, anything is possible,” the coach said. “Losing points at this point is very easy.

“Nobody knows where we are. We’ll only discover on the pitch.”

Juventus return to league action after a three-month layoff on Monday, June 22 away to Bologna but first have a Coppa Italia semi-final against AC Milan to play.

Salma Amani has joined French top-flight outfit Dijon from second-tier club Issy for a one-year deal.

The Morocco international was impressive for Issy last season as she has scored eight goals in 16 matches for the French side following the league cancellation due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Before her move to Issy, the 30-year-old previously starred for CNFE Clairefontaine, Saint-Brieuc, Guingamp and Fleury, scoring 35 goals in more than 200 matches in the elite division since 2005.

Amani's arrival saw her become the third signing for Dijon during this transfer window after the capture of Nigeria's Desire Oparanozie from Guingamp and goalkeeper Maryne Gignoux from Fleury.

On confirming her acquisition, head coach Yannick Chandioux extolled the technical and tactical qualities of the Moroccan.

"She is a player with above-average technical qualities, capable of playing a technical leadership role on the team," Chandioux told the club website.

"Salma has a large playing volume and should contribute a lot technically and tactically."

Commenting on her transfer, Amani admits the ambition of the French top-flight side lured her to agree to the offer. 

“I wanted to find the Division One. The Dijon project directly convinced me. DFCO was the first club to make me an offer and I didn't hesitate for a second. I can't wait to start here," she said.

Borussia Monchengladbach defender Ramy Bensebaini said it has been difficult for them to find motivation in the absence of fans in the stadium.

The German Bundesliga resumed on May 16 without spectators after it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.

In an attempt to recreate the stadium experience, Bensebaini’s Monchenghadbach resorted to decorating empty seats at Borussia-Park with cardboard cut-outs of fans.

The Algeria international, however, does not see the league outings differently from friendly games.

"It feels like we are playing friendly games," Bensebaini told BBC Sport.

"It’s hard to find motivation in front of no-one, but we have to play, 100%.

“It’s not the first time in my career I have played behind closed doors - it happened to me in France - but even if you actually don’t feel at home, it’s the same for everybody.”

The 25-year-old is having a fine debut campaign in the Bundesliga since his move from French Ligue 1 club Rennes last August.

The left-back has contributed five goals and two assists in 16 league appearances so far for the Foals, and he thinks the German league is more disciplined than the French top-flight.

“I feel like everything is more straight in Germany than in France," he continued.

"Even generally. Like at the beginning of the season, I arrived two or three times late for training. The coach told me, 'here you are not in France, you are in Germany'.

"He wasn’t having it when I told him it was because of the traffic. He answered: 'if you need to leave one hour earlier, do it!'."

Bensebaini credited his French-speaking teammates for his quick adaptation to life in Germany and also highlighted the 'great' team bond for their impressive results this term.

“There are a lot of French-speaking guys in the group (Alassane Pléa, Marcus Thuram and Mamadou Doucouré from France, Ibrahima Traoré from Guinea) and it helped me a lot when I joined the team.

"There is a great bond in the group and it transpires on the pitch.”

Borussia Monchengladbach are fourth in the league table with 56 points after 30 games. They battle league leaders Bayern Munich for their next league outing at Allianz Arena on Saturday.

Usuthu have struggled in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this season as they are placed 15th on the league standings which is the relegation play-off spot.

Sokhela refuses to believe that the team will be relegated to the National First Division (NFD) if the current season resumes having been suspended definitely due to the coronavirus pandemic last March.

“We have embarked on a long-term strategy of recruitment, development and talent nurturing,” Sokhela told IOL.

"For us it is a far more sustainable model. We started this process three years ago. If you look at where we are in terms of players, I think we have representation in all the junior national teams.

"If you look at how well our MDC [reserve] side has done, they were placed fourth when the season closed. We were competing among the best - the likes of [Mamelodi] Sundowns."

The last time Usuthu won a major trophy was in 1992 when they clinched the Coca-Cola Cup which is now known as the Telkom Knockout Cup.

Sokhela is convinced that the plan is coming together with the team boasting talented youngsters like Sibusiso Mabiliso, Siphesihle Maduna and Sibusiso Magaqa.

“A lot these boys are schoolboys and we have a number of young players in the senior team as well. We have the likes of Sibusiso Mabiliso, Siphesihle Maduna and Sibusiso Magaqa. If you look at what is coming in next year, that should tell you that something is taking shape here,” he stressed.

“It is unsustainable to try and compete for players in the transfer market. For example, because Bradley Grobler has done well, we say, ‘let us break the bank and pay R150 million to buy him from SuperSport United and pay him R300 000 a month’. We can’t do that. We want to get to that level but through a different model altogether."

The Usuthu official then gave an example of Ajax Cape Town, who came close to winning the PSL title in 2011 with a youthful team.

“Ajax Cape Town got it right under [coach] Foppe de Haan. They had the likes of George Maluleka, Thulani Serero, Khama Billiat, Sameegh Doutie and Lebo Manyama," he said.

“They almost won the league with that team. That’s the model that we are developing and it takes time."

Sokhela urged AmaZulu fans to be patient with the team as it will take time before they can start competing for silverware with the likes of Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs.

“Even the model that Sundowns took, they had to wait for nine years to win the league. If you look at Kaizer Chiefs with all their sponsorship and infrastructure," he added.

"They haven’t won anything in five years. It’s not easy but the way in which we are going will work if we are patient while the foundation is being laid.”