The biggest winners and losers if the 2019/20 Absa Premiership campaign is declared null and void.

Up until a few weeks ago, the race for league honors looked like a two-horse race between Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns. The side from Soweto was starting to lose momentum, whilst their opponents in Tshwane had closed the gap to just four points with a game in hand. Sundowns are usually at their strongest during the second round of a league season and it comes as no surprise that they had won four games in a row just before the break. Things were starting to become interesting before the coronavirus struck and the league got suspended.

The question that football fans have been asking themselves is what is next? If the 2019/20 season continues, then there's little doubt that we're in for yet another photo finish, but what if it is declared null and void? Some fans are already of the opinion that the league campaign should be declared null and void and that could indeed be our reality given the fact that the PSL bosses want the season to finish no later than the 30th of June, but the number of reported cases of the virus just keeps on rising in the country. If the league is declared null and void then this means both Chiefs and Sundowns will miss out on being 2019/2020 champions of the Absa Premiership. While things may look complicated and frustrating for the teams at the top, it's the bottom clubs that will be much happier with such a decision.

The Winners

Black Leopards, AmaZulu, Polokwane City, Baroka, and Chippa United will be the biggest winners. These clubs find themselves in the bottom five, with Chippa feeling a bit safe since they have a six points gap over Leopards who are in position 16. AmaZulu, on the other hand, seem to have a lot of problems in their camp if the reports are anything to go by. All these clubs have had coaching changes throughout the campaign and their lack of coaching stability could cost them dearly. Especially a side like Leopards who had a lot of injuries in their squad and have had no less than three coaching changes.

The Losers

Kaizer Chiefs will consider themselves as losers if the campaign is declared null and void because they had the possibility of winning their first piece of silverware since the 2014/15 season. 2020 is also their 50th anniversary and winning the league would have been the perfect way to celebrate this milestone. The possibility of a transfer ban would also be lingering the minds of the Amakhosi faithful. We may not have the ability to tell the future, but the looming transfer ban will not make it easy for Chiefs to challenge for the league title anytime soon.

Mamelodi Sundowns, on the other hand, will be celebrating their 50th birthday just like Chiefs and they looked to be well on course to winning a domestic treble. They have also been looking forward to winning their 10th Absa Premiership title, La Decima as Pitso Mosimane and the Masandawana faithful described it. Such a feat would have meant that they would have added a second star to their crest. There's also Ajax Cape Town and Moroka Swallows who finally looked like they were getting back to the Absa Premiership after years of absence. It will be unfortunate if the league doesn't resume and both these clubs have to start from scratch with no guarantee that they will achieve similar success in the 2020/2021 campaign. The reality is that tough decisions have to be made and these decisions will either be a huge relief for some, leave certain clubs empty-handed or create immense complications within the rest of the league.