PSL Club Boss Says South African Football Is in Recession as Clubs Continue to Release Players in Numbers

• A Premier Soccer Club boss has confirmed what has long been suspected with regards to clubs releasing players by unusually high numbers at the end of a season
• Maritzburg United chairman Farouk Kadodia said that the league was in a financial recession, forcing teams to let players go in an exodus
• More than 50 players have been shown the door by their employers as they look to balance the books in the post-Covid-19 economic crunch

The Premier Soccer League is in a financial recession according to Maritzburg United chairman Farouk Kadodia.

As the off-season continues, several clubs have released a record plus-50 players from their books as they face economic challenges like other industries. Some clubs might be looking to revamp squads for an improved campaign next season, but there is no denying that financial reasons factor into the decisions, too.

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Maritzburg United boss Farouk Kadodia has opened up about financial challenges many Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs are facing.

According to SowetanLIVE, Kadodia said:

“We just came out of one challenge in the form of Covid-19 and we are walking into a situation where I personally think football is in an economic recession where there’s plenty of unemployment with a lot of players that have been offloaded from many teams.

“That has created a vacuum of unemployment. The financial demands on clubs from the players and agents has been quite high and demanding."

The SowetanLIVE article suggested that former Amazulu goalkeeper coach Moeneeb Josephs, while not saying it openly, inferred that his surprise sacking by Usuthu was possibly motivated by the crunch.

Josephs told TimesLIVE:

“The reason why I got fired cannot be because of work. I really can’t pin it down to anything. Maybe it has to be a cash thing with the team, it has to be something like that which is understandable."

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The mass exodus of players from Premier Soccer League teams has been the subject of much debate in local football circles over the last since the club season ended.

As reported by Sports Brief, Kaizer Chiefs, Amazulu, Sekhukhune United, and Maritzburg United released 46 players between them.

This number is expected to balloon alarmingly as the other clubs are expected to do the same, trying to manage their finances in the aftermath of the economic crunch brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.