Africa-Press – Eswatini. Talking about security forces teams on and off the field is like rubbing other teams the wrong way.
Clearly, the issue of forces teams will continue to be a nightmare for most football people, as Manzini Regional Football Association Executive member Mancoba Mahlindza was almost in tears as he urged the Eswatini Football Association to intervene and call such teams to order.
When making a submission during the Eswatini Football Association Annual General Meeting held at the Happy Valley Hotel yesterday, he stated that it was so disappointing to note that the teams would win competitions in the country, which then give them tickets to qualify for CAF competitions. He said the very same teams later withdrew, stating that it was expensive for them to participate in such competitions.
exposure
“These teams have all resources at the disposal, so it is frustrating to see them decline to honour such competitions. As a matter of fact, they use their power to recruit all the best players in the country but those players don’t get international exposure, which was not good for the sport.
Actually, that gives the national team a problem as the players fail to deliver at national team level.
Surprisingly, the teams that are not among the forces teams dig deep into their coffers to honour the competitions, yet they are the ones that do not have the resources like them.”
Mahlindza said it was upon the EFA to deal with such concerns pertaining the forces teams in the league to give everyone fair chances and also to make sure that the ground remained level for everyone. He added that the future of football was crafted by such things and this should be dealt with urgently.
frustrations
Eswatini Football Association President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane said they were well aware of the frustrations expressed about the forces teams and they were dealing with addressing them.
“Such concerns have been brought up on several occasions, we understand the concerns raised by the teams and were are not at any point ignoring what they are saying, but we do not want to be seen as if we are trying to discriminate anyone because football remains an inclusive sport,” he said
In response to the concerns raised by Mahlindza, Premier League of Eswatini Executive member and Black Swallows Director Charles Matsebula said there was a football manual that was compiled to give clarity on the issue and address it.
“The PLE strongly advises all clubs to have presidents and directors who will be hands-on in the running of teams.
By so doing the presidents or directors will have the chance to attend meetings, where such issues will be discussed, because clearly some of the things, especially the unfair competition in the forces teams, were not communicated to directors or club presidents, hence nothing was being done about it,” he said.
Matsebula further stated that in the upcoming AGM on August 10, teams were required to send club presidents and an official but in most cases, some clubs send two officials, which will not be allowed and that will see a team having one representative.
Worth nothing is that Ntondozi Member of Parliament Peter Ngwenya once urged the Prime Minister, Russell Mmiso Dlamini to look into the issue of security forces teams participating in the MTN Premier League.
Ngwenya said when looking at the log table, the three teams were at the top and that they were enjoying unfair advantage over other clubs.
The security forces teams are Young Buffaloes, Royal Leopard and Green Mamba.
“All of these three teams are using the country’s resources, including cars and time. You cannot form a team and make it competitive if other players go to work before coming for training, like it is happening with the other teams,” he said.
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