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We are aimlessly training for nothing - Cape Town City boss Comitis decries season restart delay
The veteran football administrator has warned about job losses and the collapse of the domestic game due to the Safa-PSL impasse
Cape Town City chairman John Comitis has predicted a "looming disaster” as a result of the prolonged 2019/20 season coronavirus-induced break.
Football in South Africa was suspended in March but the government recently gave a thumbs-up for the continuation of the current season.
With the Premier Soccer League (PSL) setting on July 18 for the restart, Safa has blocked that date, saying their referees will only be available in the first week of August.
The football mother body is also not fully satisfied with the health and safety measures put in place by clubs.
This has infuriated some PSL clubs, including Cape Town City, who has warned of the crippling economic effects within football that would continue to be felt in seasons to come.
“If we don’t resume, there’s going to be problems. Sponsors are going to start asking questions - like our own sponsors are asking questions,” Comitis told IOL.
“We are hoping that we will return to football, because we are going to suffer [if we don’t]. The disaster that looms means that people are going to lose their jobs and the industry will collapse.”
Cape Town City were the first PSL confirmed team to resume group training and Comitis says frustration has crept into their camp due to continued training without clear restart dates.
“We’ve been training for the past three months. The players are getting frustrated,” said Comitis.
"The entire industry is getting frustrated. It is not nice. The coaches are getting fired. We are aimlessly training for nothing.
“We are hopeful that sanity will prevail and [we will] return to business, like other businesses that have been allowed to return. We are just waiting to see what will develop.
“We will find out what is going on maybe Monday or Tuesday. We’ve been told to get ready. We need to wait for PSL and Safa to finalise what is going to happen.”
City’s early return to training and eagerness for football to resume could signal their seriousness in securing their PSL status for next season.
They have seven remaining league games and are placed 10th on the standings, seven points above basement side Black Leopards.
