Football makes a welcomed return!

It's been a while since my last post -a month to be exact-so first off I have to apologise to my loyal readers(all 8 of you) for sticking around. I hate making excuses, and it seems like I'm constantly making them these days but the past couple of months have been beyond hectic in my personal life, but I won't bore you with the details.

What I will say though is that it feels great to be back behind the keyboard and hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently with the new season around the corner....

Locally the season is just about in full swing after this week's MTN8 quarter-finals in which Soweto Giants Orlando Pirates and Premier Soccer League Champions SuperSport United were knocked out by Ajax Cape Town and AmaZulu in the first round of Wafa Wafa action. The PSL season will also kick off tonight as defending Champions SuperSport United takes on Gordon Igesund's Maritzburg United, who will once again be likely candidates for relegation.

The PSL season will be very congested as a result of next year's Fifa World Cup which means that teams could find themselves playing up o three times a week!

On the International side of things the English Premier League kicks off in two weeks time but fans will be treated to a certain raiser this weekend as League Champions take on FA Cup winners in the FA Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.

Fans of Italian football will also be getting their first dose of 'competitive' footy as Serie-A Champions Inter Milan takes on Copa Italia winners Lazio on Saturday at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing.

If that's not enough to get you excited there’s also the 'little' matter of the Champions League Qualifiers which will take place on the 18th and 19th of August after the draw for the group stages were held this afternoon. There are some interesting match-ups in store for the fans with Arsenal vs Celtic being the pick of the draw.

Finally, the inaugural Europa League(formerly known as the Uefa Cup) will also be kicking off this month as teams go head to head in a knock-out round to determine who will make it to the Group stages. The first leg of the knock-out round takes place on the 20th of August.

Well there you have it folks, no more pesky pre-season friendly’s. The footy season is back and all is well in the world again.