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In an exclusive interview with www.supersoccer.com, Irvin Khoza hinted that the PSL board of governors, the highest decision making body of professional football in the country, will hold a workshop next year and among issues to be discussed and debated could be the possibility of reducing the number of cup competitions.
Currently the PSL runs the MTN 8 Cup competition aimed at catering for the teams that finished the previous season in the top eight. Then there is the Telkom Cup which is contested exclusively by the 16 teams of the Premiership and finally the Nedbank Challenge Cup of which the winner represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“In order to maintain our status as the continent’s number one commercially successful league,” said Khoza, “perhaps the time has come for us to seriously consider cutting down on the number of our domestic cup competitions. I cannot pinpoint which one exactly but I think that will have to be discussed at a planned workshop next year.”
While running a successful league n the domestic front with massive backing from both the corporate and media houses in the country, the clubs have nonetheless not covered themselves in glory on the continent which has resulted in their ratings dropping alarmingly in Africa.
“When we reduced the number of clubs in the Premiership from 18 to 16,” Khoza explained, “we also cut down on the number of cup competitions. But there was an outcry from many clubs who felt they had been denied an opportunity of a revenue stream.
“Others felt the top eight was a perfect inspiration for clubs to aim for qualification for the top eight while those at the top knew they could not loosen their grip at the top lest they crashed down beyond the top eight bracket and in the end, the competition was reinstated, but times have changed and we need a re-think on domestic football.”
The top 12 teams according to the CAF ratings are allowed the luxury of entering two teams each in the African Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup respectively. However, following significant gains by Orlando Pirates who won the continent’s premier competition in 1995, it has been downhill since then.
Pirates have also finished in the semifinals on four occasions while Mamelodi Sundowns were losing finalists to Al Ahly in 2002. But since then local clubs have either refused to enter and cited flimsy excuses or if they did, embarrassingly bombed out in the first round without making any significant impact.
“When I look at TP Mazembe and what they have achieved in the FIFA World Club championship this year when losing to Inter Milan in the final, I felt proud to be an African,” said Khoza. “But more importantly, clubs across the continent need to look at Mazembe and be inspired. “It is the duty of all the clubs across the continent to take over the baton from Mazembe and whoever qualifies for the FIFA World Club competition must strive to emulate if not go one better than Mazembe.
And it is only if we take Pan-African club competitions seriously that we can aim to scale similar heights.” Khoza admitted that there were serious challenges facing them. And one of the issues that need to be carefully debated would be to consider doing away with one cup competitions which could ease the congested domestic programme and thus give clubs competing in Africa more time to prepare.
The man known as the “Iron Duke” said although domestic cup competitions were a healthy revenue stream for local clubs maybe that is a sacrifice they have to make in order to indicate to the rest of the world that South Africa can be a force to reckon with in Africa.
It is a well known fact that should the plan to reduce the number of cup competitions succeed the first person who will rejoice and perhaps jump with joy would be national coach Pitso Mosimane who has also been hamstrung by the unavailability of players due to a congested domestic programme.
