We can't afford league break during AFCON

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Thursday January 7, 2010 00:00

 

The marathon league is expected to finish early in order to avoid disruptions during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the first to be played in Africa.

While the Premier League office has seen it fit to accommodate the World Cup, there would be no such arrangement for Africa's premier soccer tournament, the AFCON.

Setete said if they had afforded teams a break, it would have negatively impacted on their income.

Most teams rely on gate takings as their main source of income.

He said the World Cup tournament has to be accommodated owing to its proximity and that it is the first to be played in Africa.

'League games used to be played during past World Cups, but this one is different owing to its proximity. We would have liked to have a break during the AFCON but teams might suffer,' Setete said.

He said most local fixtures will not clash with AFCON games as most matches in Angola will be played in the evening.

Setete said if there were fixture disruptions during AFCON, the local league will finish in July, the month the World Cup will be played.

'We sat down and came up with what we thought is best for football. Remember teams have just returned from the festive season break and it was going to affect them if they had gone for another month without gate takings,' Setete said.

He said only games in the latter stage of the tournament will clash with be MOBILE Premier League games and this was being looked into.

The league is expected to end early to allow fans to watch the World Cup without 'divided' attention.

It has been projected that the league will end in April with the Coca-Cola Cup expected to end in May.