Buckley: It’s going to be difficult for players to return back to field

Former Bafana Bafana players Sibusiso Zuma and Delron Buckley said football will not be the same when it returns back to action, as some clubs are having tough time to catch up and others have lost a momentum of their style of play.

Ex-Bafana skipper Buckley hinted that: “In football you need competitive games to keep yourself fit and be ready for the next encounter , so is going to be very difficult for players to keep up with the back to back fixtures.”

Meanwhile, ‘Rhee Zuma’ also added that football is a toxic environment, as players have to workout everyday and to keep in touch with their coaches for tips and guides.
“Players have to keep consistency of their fitness, and they have to enhance their fitness to be 100%, you can’t just stand up from your comfort zone and go the field to play,” Buckley said.

Both legends said that the effect of the Coronavirus has halted the domestic football, and due to the long lockdown most players have lost the touch of staying fit. They said when the season usually goes on break, there will be preseason games to help players to keep them in good shape.

“In decent level of football, you’ll need to work on your stamina. As a player you need to cover over 10km in a 90-minute match. So imagine if you stayed indoors for over three months and after then you have to go back to the field– the demands of the game will exponentially need you to be more powerful and be ready,” Buckley addressed.

Covid-19 has wrought havoc across the world and, unsurprisingly, football did not escaped the effects of the outbreak, it was severely affected.

Leagues and competitions everywhere have been forced to postpone games, all domestic football encounters in South Africa had to shut down. PSL and SAFA are on a deadlock as they plan to work on a broader plan to commence with the 2019/20 season.

Writer: Thomas Lethoba