Moorosi Tsiane
THE Premier League Management Committee (PLMC) and the representatives of the 14 league teams on Thursday decided to end the Econet Premier League season in its current state.
However, it is yet to be determined whether or not current leader Bantu would eventually be crowned champions.
A Matšo Matebele were leading the league table with 50 points from 18 matches before the league was halted in mid-March amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
By yesterday, Lesotho had recorded 24 cases of Covid-19 after testing over 3 605 specimens.
The decision comes after the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) national executive committee tasked the PLMC with recommending the way forward.
PLMC spokesperson, Moeketsi Ramakatsa, told the Lesotho Times on Friday that the Thursday meeting resolved to end the season in the current state to avoid a potential financial crisis for the clubs. If the season were to continue, then all the clubs would foot serious bills in coming up with strict conditions to curb the spread of Covid-19 among players, staff and even fans.
“All the teams agreed that the season should be ended in its current state while there will not be any relegations,” Ramakatsa said.
He however, said they are yet to meet with other stakeholders to determine the way forward regarding promotion of teams from the A Division and sharing of the prizes.
“For now, I wouldn’t want to get into detail on the issue because we are yet to consult with all the stakeholders. We are yet to meet with the A Division Management Committee and discuss how we will work on the issues relating to the promotion of teams and also our sponsors on the prizes,” Ramakatsa said.
Ramakatsa said teams emphasised that it was unsafe to continue playing while the country is facing an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases when in the first place it was suspended without any cases in March.
“The teams felt it was unsafe to continue playing. So, the decision had to be made to avoid a situation where teams continued incurring costs when they do not know when the league would resume.
“It obviously would be expensive to reopen because teams would have to adhere to all World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. This is why they recommended that the season be ended.
“The decision will also allow clubs to release some players and go onto the market in preparation for next season,” he said.
Ramakatsa said it was also unclear when the 2020/21 season would commence as that would only be determined after thorough consultations.