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By Mark Gleeson 
3h ago
CAPE TOWN: The expected lifting of the confinement restrictions in South Africa at the end of the month is unlikely to trigger the resumption of the sport and add to the frustrations in a country filled with football and rugby.
Sport in South Africa and around the world has been closed since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The country itself has been subjected to a stricter quarantine that will have lasted five weeks by the time it rises on April 30.
South Africans were ordered to stay home, except for essential workers and short trips to buy groceries. Things have been made more difficult by the general ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco and the ban on all sports activities, including a simple walk or bike ride.
A draft government presentation, seen by Reuters On Wednesday, he is considering some flexibility, but suggests that any gathering of more than 10 people will be banned for an indefinite period in an effort to keep the infection rate low.
This will be a heavy blow to football and rugby, which hoped that their seasons would work again.
South Africa’s Premier Soccer League was on the cusp of a potentially exciting title matchup with the country’s best-supported club, Kaizer Chiefs moving closer to end a five-year trophy drought.
Soccer clubs derived most of their income from a lucrative TV rights deal and were unaffected by the coronavirus blockade, but were eager to resume, even behind closed doors.
But if the game is still closed, the president of the South African Football Players Union, Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe, told Reuters that he hoped to be negotiating with the clubs about possible pay cuts as soon as possible.
“We have marked it but we are not at that point yet,” he said.
Rugby is more reliant on entry shots and has already announced that it will seek to cut spending by R1 billion in the next eight months, after having agreed in principle with various stakeholders for pay cuts, including the union of players and employees.
He also announced plans for a unique six-team home competition between June and August, but now this is likely to need to be changed.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to announce the new plans in a speech on Thursday.
Reuters
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