Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) says it needs more information and “extensive consultations” with clubs before making a decision on the current football season which has now been on hold for a month.
It is the second time this season football has been suspended due to a rising number of Covid-19 cases and the current situation is putting the new 2021/22 season at risk because it may not start on time.
With time running out, the Premier League quickly has to find solutions to the current season but it insists that will only be done after consultations with the teams.
Yesterday the PLMC held a meeting to discuss the 2021/21 season and its management agreed more information was needed before a decision could be made.
The current season has only played 53 percent of its fixtures which is way below the agreed threshold with the league’s sponsors, Vodacom Lesotho, who took over sponsorship of the premiership last September.
Vodacom is in the first year of a three-year deal with the league. If the league is aborted, a lot of issues would have to be clarified as there is no obvious winner at the moment.
Defending champions Bantu, who won a shortened league season last year as well, are neck and neck with rivals Matlama at the top of the log. If the season does continue then it also has to be decided on what terms it will do so, and what that would mean for the next season.
The PLMC’s plan was for the current campaign to end on September 4 with the new season set to start late in October but whether this is still possible is unknown.
PLMC spokesperson Qamako Mahao said the PLMC hopes to make a decision by next week. “PLMC sat today and looked at things and we found that we still need to have more information and above all we need to consult with all our teams,” Mahao said.
“By next week we want to have done that and make a decision whether we continue and on what conditions if we do, or we stop and what are the consequences.
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Mahao continued: “We are the type of management that has to consult more than any other management because we are in a very abnormal kind of situation.
This new normal gives us a lot of scenarios we didn’t expect, it needs a lot of consultations with our clubs on the ground and this is why almost every decision has to be made in consultation with the clubs.
” Mahao said all the PLMC does is to give the clubs “the picture on the wall” and the teams will decide and a resolution will be implemented.
Although the Premier League is insisting no decision has been made, it seems unlikely the season will continue because time is no longer on the league’s side. The current situation has already cost Lesotho a representative in the CAF Champions League which is due to start in October.
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