Amakhosi, defending champions for this title, were drawn up against Limpopo side Black Leopards for a 09:30 kick-off while Sundowns will square up against Orlando Pirates at 11:30. The winners will then progress to the final set for 16:30.

"We have serious reservations about the kick-off time (09:30) for the first match," said Dumitru. "It is unheard of anywhere in the world, never mind playing two games in one day, to play a match at that time of the morning. It is really unfair to wake players up at around 06:00 in the morning. We will be taking this issue up with the league during the course of this week."

The competition has been played in this format over the years but there are calls to re-look at the current format. Supporters will also suffer the inconvenience, as they will have to get up very early if they are to watch the first match live.

"The charity tournament should be reviewed immediately for the next edition. There are better solutions like playing the competition over a period of two days with the semifinals on Saturday and the final on Sunday.

"With the current format, we are breaking some medical rules by pushing the players too hard. Say for instance it’s very hot on Saturday then we will have serious problems with recovery between the matches," Dumitru said.

The Amakhosi boss is also not happy with the competition’s rules regarding substitutions, as participating teams will be restricted to three substitutions like in any other official tournament.

"The number of substitutions must be left unlimited because Fifa has now changed the rules but the local organisers got the idea that substitutions should only be three for a competition like this.

"According to Fifa rules for international friendly matches you are allowed five plus one substitutions while the number is unlimited in local friendly tournaments," argues Dumitru.

With the organisers targeting to raise R3 million for the needy, playing the competition over two days could go a long way in helping achieve that objective.