Brakpan local football Association chairman Phoko Mokubung has expressed his delight about the steps that have been taken by the country’s football governing body SAFA and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in trying to resume the game after it was brought to a halt by the coronavirus pandemic some two months ago. This comes after the two parties met last week to forge an approach to the resumption of football, with the plan being to present that idea to the national government for its approval before it can be set in motion.
The Brakpan LFA leagues of the different age groups have also been affected by the stoppage.
Mokubung, on his regular feature on local radio station EKFM’s Sports Front with Votile Jack last Thursday, said it was encouraging to see progress being made in the effort to resume the different competitions in the country. He also suggested that since the two bodies decided to form a task team that would have 14 days to draft a written plan on the guidelines that would have to be followed if football were to resume, the different LFA’s views should also be taken into account.
“I’m hoping that before the task team submits (the plan) to the government, they will come to us here and maybe make a draft of the policy to send to all the structures, from local football associations upwards. They shouldn’t make decisions on our behalf just because they are in the higher positions. So I hope and believe that they can do that, so that if it happens that we move to level three or even level two (of the national lockdown) – or that the president allows for the opening on level three – we would have also had an input as to how we get back to playing.”
Mokubung, who is popularly known as ‘Magic Feet’ because of his exploits during his playing days, also expressed concern and disappointment at the flagrant disregard of the lockdown regulations by some young footballers around Tsakane who he says he regularly spots at various grounds while driving around the township.
Under the current level 4 of the lockdown, outdoor exercising is allowed but under strict conditions - that it happens between 6am and 9am and that people who exercise do so on their own.
Mokubung says he is discouraged to see that this regulation is not abided by.
“I don’t know if it’s the kids, team managers or the coaches who allow the kids to go to the grounds to exercise and to play football, but we’ve heard that those things are not yet allowed. We as the Brakpan LFA, we did say that we are not yet allowed to go to the grounds and play. So I’m surprised that when I go past a certain section, I see children playing, and I know to whom the teams in particular sections belong. So I’m asking myself if they don’t see if what is happening will get us into trouble, because currently we don’t know who is infected.
”So I’m appealing to all the team managers, coaches, that if you see that it’s the boys who play for your club, call them to order, that’s it,” added Mokubung.
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