Broos says PSL cannot claim to support Bafana as he takes another swipe at league

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos could not resist a dig at the Premier Soccer League (PSL) as the team prepares to fly to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which starts on Saturday in Ivory Coast. 

The outspoken Broos said he is still angry at the PSL for not allowing the season to take a break on December 24 and allow Afcon-bound players a longer festive break to be fresher for the tournament. 

Sundowns, who have 10 players in the Bafana squad, played 30 matches between August and December, which is equivalent to a full league season, as they took part in several domestic and continental competitions. 

The season ran until December 31, allowing Bafana players a few days’ break before linking up for a four-day camp in Stellenbosch. Their preparations wrapped up with a match against Lesotho on Wednesday before flying to the tournament on Thursday. 

“You know the discussion I had with the PSL. Honestly, all these players were not really recovered, we could see and feel it and that was my fear. It is not so bad, but you feel in training with the measures we took that players were not 100% fresh,” said Broos. 

“This is what I said eight months ago when I asked them to stop the league on December 24. Those players needed the break because looking at the programme they had a lot of games over the last two months of last year. 

“Even from the beginning, a team such as Sundowns was playing every three days from August until December. Again, I don’t understand that the league cannot accept and stop on the 24th.” 

Broos said the PSL cannot claim to support Bafana. 

“I am really sorry about that and don’t tell me they support Bafana Bafana. It is a laugh, but again it is not the real problem. 

“We work hard and that shows the mentality of the players, that they want to do it. But in the best circumstances we should have done it differently. I talked about it with members of the technical staff on how we are going to do it and the solutions are there. I get angry every time to talk about it.”