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De Sa: 'This season is done and dusted'

Roger De Sa says it is highly unlikely that any more soccer will be played in South Africa this season.

With the country in lockdown from Thursday night for three weeks, as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, all sporting activities have been suspended.

But while the Premier Soccer League (PSL) is hopeful of returning to action by 30 June, the former Bidvest Wits, Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town boss, who is now part owner of Cape Umoya, feels the situation may get a lot worse.

Speaking to Phakaaathi, De Sa said: "Deep down we all knew this thing will take months, as we have seen from the news and what has happened in other countries.

"We have to be realistic...I reckon this season is done and dusted, it could be worse than we all think.

"As much as we want to think 'maybe in a couple of weeks (we can play)', we have to look at other countries and see what is going down...they are possibly even better prepared than us."

De Sa added: "It hasn’t even hit our poor areas yet. It will be scary if it does."

Reflecting on his own situation, De Sa explained: "We at Cape Umoya have closed shop, if the PSL decides for us to play (then they do), but it’s not likely, let’s be realistic. I have a business in tatters, imagine bigger businesses.

"I was talking to Ari (Efsthathiou, the Ajax Cape Town chairperson) on the flight back to Cape Town and he was telling me what he was going through, cancellations at his hotels, it is horrific. I have 40 staff, what do I do with them?

"Everyone is waiting for the president (Cyril Ramaphosa) to come out and make some kind of commitment, loans need to be frozen, this has to happen, something has got to give because we are not going to be able to carry on like this. It is like being at war."

- TEAMtalk media

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