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NewsDay

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Caf to change calendar?

Sport
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) could be forced to change their Champions League calendar to match international standards following presentations from South Africa. The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) made its appeal to the continental body following the poor performances of SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits in the Champions League and Confederations Cup […]

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) could be forced to change their Champions League calendar to match international standards following presentations from South Africa.

The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) made its appeal to the continental body following the poor performances of SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits in the Champions League and Confederations Cup respectively.

The opening rounds of two competitions start in January when the SA league is in full swing while the Zimbabwean league would not have started by then.

SuperSport were knocked out after losing 2-1 on aggregate to Al Ahly in the round of 32, which made it the fourth year in a row that a South African club failed to make it to the group stages of the Champions League.

Wits, on the other hand, were bundled out in the second round of the Confederation Cup after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Adema of Madagascar.

Zimbabwe’s Dynamos were knocked out in the first round after losing to MC Algiers on the away goals rule after the two legged games had ended 4-4 on aggregate while another representative Motor Action were bundled out by Asec Mimosas of Ivory Coast at the same stage.

SA PSL chairman Irvin Khoza told Kick Off that the downside for South African teams is that Caf’s fixture calendar for its competitions is different from that of the PSL.

Khoza explained: “As we speak, we wrote a letter to Caf to check if they would change their season. We play from August to May because we accommodate Safa for international matches and that’s the reason we opted for the common calendar,” he said.

“We are hoping our calendar and that of Caf can be common . . . we want to give our clubs an even chance so there are no excuses. We want to ensure they are able to register the players on time and so on,” Khoza stated.

According to PSL chief executive officer Kjetil Siem, Caf are considering the PSL’s proposal on the matter. “They responded and they said they are considering it,” Siem added.