Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is unhappy with the timing of the international break.
The Betway Premiership is only seven games into the new season, having been interrupted by the MTN8, Carling Knockout Cup, and now a second week of international football.
The Buccaneers have started their 2024/25 campaign like a house on fire, winning all seven of their league games to sit on top of the standings with 21 points – three ahead of reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
They also scooped the MTN8 title with victory over Stellenbosch and are in the group stages of the CAF Champions League.
This most recent hiatus from league football comes after Pirates beat Richards Bay on Tuesday 5 November, and with their next game only on 26 November, in the Champions League against CR Belouizdad.
Riveiro said in the Sowetan: “Obviously, when you are winning every two, three days, you don’t want to stop. I am not going to lie, you want to keep going, especially the players, who may be having fun on the field and the results are coming for us.
“Well, you want to continue but now many of them have different compromises with national teams. They will continue competing and the [other] ones will stay here in Joburg and prepare for what’s coming. We have an extremely tight schedule in November, December, January, and the next FIFA break is in March, so once we resume after this one, we don’t stop anymore.”
Riveiro added: “There’s nothing I can do, so I take it [the fixture programme] the way it is. It’s a break and it doesn’t matter if I prefer it or not. So, like I said many times, one of the keys to succeed in modern football is planning.”