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DECLARE SEASON NULL & VOID!

09/06/2020 00:12:00 BY Lwazi's Pandora's Boxs

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My dearest readers… Football is already underway or about to restart in several countries. This brings us, and all the football fans across the globe, some hope for the future.

However, we also have to understand and respect different decisions, especially from those among us who still need more time to be sure that a restart can be done in a way that is safe for everyone. “Tolerance and understanding are important, especially these days.”

That’s not me saying this after having consumed enough Scottish waters to tranquilise a baby elephant or the morning after a heavy night, having drank enough water to quench the thirst of a parched dromedary.

It is the beautiful game of football’s number one citizen, FIFA president, Gianni Infantino. The video message released on Saturday and recorded in all six languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Italian) is loud and clear.

Understand

You only need to have two brain cells to rub together to understand that the FIFA president has opened a leeway to each member of the 211-member associations to decide what to do with the 2019/2020 season, which has been hit for a six by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those who are fond of always waving the FIFA card to intimidate small men in our football better come to terms with the fact that it is now a global village. FIFA communicates explicitly in all media platforms in a matter of minutes to reach even the little ‘Pulpit of Africa’, Eswatini, down south.

FIFA has opened the leeway for each member association to decide what to do with the wretched 2019/2020 season, obviously in consultation with government and health authorities in the midst of the greatest human tragedy of our lifetime.

As the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) and its commercial wing, the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) pulled each other sideways in the battle for the soul of Eswatini football, one is becoming increasingly evident with each passing week – there will be no football played in this country at least in the next three months.

Imploded

At the expense of sounding like a stuck record, the 2019/2020 season has imploded right before our disbelieving eyes. Whe-ther we like it or not; whether government finally allows sporting activities to resume, many other factors make it impossible to restart the season.

Yes, we have only eight league games remaining and the much loved EswatiniBank Cup was on its quarter-final stage, which basically means, you need at least two months to conclude the season but there is the conundrum of the constitution.
There are also the factors which call for extreme precautionary measures to be observed before action can resume.

Preparatory

Then there is also the preparatory matter for the re-start; contractual agreements with players, it all points towards the IMPOSSIBLE.
The PLE Board of Governors are still on the table, discussing among other issues the fate of the 2019/2020 season and have already suggested a way out through a 16-team premier league and 14-team National First Division league.

At first, let me be honest, I felt this was far-fetched but if there is financial backing for this move, then it is a viable option given that you cannot relegate any team when the season has not been played to the finish line.

If the PLE were to do so, they would be opening themselves up for litigation. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented scenario for football nay our lives. It then calls for sober-minded decisions to be taken, not only for the present scenario but a plan going forward because we have to admit, we will live with the COVID-19 pandemic scenario for some time to come unless and until a vaccine is found.

Nobody knows when a vaccine will be found. As it is, government has still suspended all sporting activities.
The EFA, unlike other associations around the continent, is holding on to its purse about offering any financial assistance to teams even from the US$500 000 (about E9.4 million) FIFA grant and continuously tells everyone who cares to listen that they still await the FIFA COVID-19 relief funds because the US$500 000 is a grant for programmes outlined for this year. It is beside the point that no football activity or programmes is ongoing right now.

As the PLE Board of Governors again meet today, it is crucial that sanity prevails and the key issues, in particular the fate of the 2019/2020 season, are vigorously debated because time and tide waits for no man.

Constitutional

There is the constitutional issue, which states that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held between July 15- August 15.
The AGM cannot be held before the season is ended officially. With teams also needing three weeks to prepare for the supposedly season restart, this makes it impossible for the 2019/2020 season to be concluded before August 15.

I hate to admit this, but the stark reality is that the 2019/2020 season is ‘dead and buried’.
What needs to be done now, is to plan on what happens next and how to prepare for the new 2020/2021 season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is still enough time to put all the plans together ahead of the new season, which could start even in September.

Even FIFA President Gianni Infantino agrees. Stand up and say you say now, Mr Football. “There isn’t one answer to all the situations. Each country is different with different contexts and no one better than you knows the best way to deal with this enormous challenge.”
Over to you Peter ‘Touch’ Magagula and Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa...