Africa-Press – Eswatini. STIFF fines and some leading to a ban from football will be introduced in the upcoming MTN Premier League 2022/23 season.
This was collectively agreed to by club directors during the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Board of Governors (BoGs) six-hour special meeting on Saturday at Sigwaca House.
In a briefing by the organisation’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya and Chief Operations Officer (COO) Petros Vilakati, the club owners noted keenly the behaviour of some of the clubs which were a threat to potential sponsors of the PLE.
“Muti beliefs have mainly contributed to this bad behaviour and this makes the environment not safe for our sponsors and potential ones. Club owners collectively agreed that fines should be increased from next season with some leading to a ban from football,” Vilakati said.
The hottest topic of relegation in the PLE’s two leagues, Premier League and National First Division was left unresolved with the office of the CEO tasked with the issue of finding a solution to the long term viability of having 30 clubs. The biggest issue is the lack of stadiums and the money spent on match officials’ allowances.
“Previously, mainly because of its proximity, we played 60 to 70 per cent of our games at Somhlolo National Stadium and we are hopeful that the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs will give us access to the facility in the upcoming season. FIFA standards, which are the reasons the venue was banned from hosting CAF sanctioned matches, do not apply with us.
Tournaments like the Eswatini Telecom Charity Cup require a venue that can swallow as many people hence we keep our fingers crossed on the availability of Somhlolo,” Vilakati added.
Meanwhile, with 450 Premier League games and 338 in the National First Division played this past season, the organisation has spent a whopping E1 141 260 paying match officials.
For each Premier League game, the PLE spends E1 770; E370 for the match commissioner and E350 each for the four referees, while it is E220 for the match commissioner in the feeder National First Division and E200 each for the four referees, which equates to E1 020 per game.
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