The suspension of football activities in South Africa due to the coronavirus is set to have huge financial consequences on soccer in the country. It is the biggest sporting code in the country and active for almost the entire year.
Football bodies, clubs, players and sponsors will be the hardest hit. The past week has been challenging for soccer lovers to adapt to what can be described as a football blackout in South Africa.
South Africa’s Football Association (SAFA) has put a hold all activities related to the sport until the 14th of April. With the continuous spread of the virus and the numbers of infections increasing daily, the postponement could take a little bit longer.
In this video below, Irvin Khoza announces the suspension of PSL games amid COVID-19:
This will have a huge negative impact on the sport that generates millions in revenue. It will delay the completion of the various leagues around the world and the administration will be forced to dig deep into their reserves.
FIFA and its federations could be forced compensate member associations to ensure that they are able to meet their obligations.
Most associations around the world rely on funding from their federations and FIFA for financial stability.
“FIFA recognises and so does UEFA, and so does CAF and SAFA, the impact. You must know that for SAFA major revenue is when our teams are playing qualification and qualify for tournaments. That’s our big revenue. The World Cup is big revenue. Afcon is a big revenue and now, we can’t get that revenue because matches are postponed. Under 17, under 20 and Olympic team. So, we have five teams that could have generated a lot of revenue for us, but we must understand we have to put the interest of the players first,” says SAFA President Danny Jordaan.
Due to the uncertainties around the coronavirus, the PSL will remain flexible should the league not be able to end by 30 June, which is the date it hopes to complete the current campaign.
Failure to complete on the date set means there could be more complications. Most player contracts are set to end on the 30th of June and there are those that have already signed pre-contracts with other clubs.
