Jomo Cosmos owner/coach Jomo Sono is not impressed with the delay in the National First Division’s kick-off and would love for the matter to be resolved as soon as possible.
The league was scheduled to start this week but on Tuesday Premier Soccer League (PSL) acting CEO Cambridge Mokanyane announced that the fixtures had been suspended, pending the special general meeting that will be held at the end of August. The kick-off of the First Division, now a stand-alone league, will be announced in that meeting.
“We are disappointed about the delays as they are no good for football. I believe that the chairman (Dr Irvin Khoza) will come up with a solution to this matter as soon as possible,” said Sono.
“It affects us all, including the players who are not interested in politics, only football,” said Sono on Tuesday.
Sono also believes that the NFD teams should have at least three players who are under-23s, and not five.
“Our league is no longer a developmental league. The five players rule should apply to South African Football Association (Safa) leagues, not in our division. But the problem is that we, as club officials, agreed on that before it became a law,” he said.
He added that the issue of forcing the clubs to have only three foreign players was not healthy for a team like Cosmos.
“I had five foreign players in the Absa Premiership last season and now the NFD is telling me to use only three. What am I going to do with the other two who have five-year contracts? Must I show them the door? It is not fair, but I believe my chairman will get the matter sorted out.”
Sono said he was never in support of the First Division end-of-season play-offs and would not have a problem if the system is scrapped. He wants the two clubs that finish top of the table to get promoted.
“I would like to see them [the play-offs] cancelled. The bottom two Absa Premiership teams must be relegated with the first two teams in the NFD filling their places. The NFD teams should have enough time to rest and prepare before the Absa Premiership season kicks off,” he said.
Cosmos will visit African Warriors on the opening day of the season at Botshabelo Stadium when the season eventually does start. – Star Africa