Swazi Observer

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COMFORT, MASHUMI, SAMORA PROMISE TO COMMERCIALISE LOCAL FOOTBALL

By Melusi Mlotsa | 2021-06-14

SOCCER - Eswatini Football Associations presidential hopefuls, Dr Comfort Shongwe, Mashumi Shongwe and Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane have promised to commercialise football in the country if elected. The EFA will go to the polls on June 27 at a venue yet to be announced.

In a campaign event held yesterday at Sigwaca House, the trio minced no words as they said there was a need to treat football as a business. Dr Shongwe, who was the first to make a presentation layout, said he would build partnerships and sponsorships with public-private sectors and potential partners.

“I will assist member associations to build mutually and beneficial partnerships and sponsorship relationships with internal and external partners, especially the regional associations. EFA should consider sourcing sponsorships for the regional associations as a block.

“It is also imperative to improve the economic and sports efficiency, to comprehensively engage clubs to come up with a structure, which will be inclusive and acceptable to all stakeholders, to be flexible with the corporate world.

The Premier League of Eswatini should have a sound structure for ease of partnership with the corporate world. Clubs should have grants to run their business professionally and persuade government to fund sports with the sin tax, “he said.

Dr Shongwe also called for an investment in sports at grassroots level, the development of women football, improve the handling of legal cases within EFA, and improve performance of the national team squads, amongst others. On the other hand, Mashumi said football was still not run professional locally; hence there was a need to promote good governance.

“We don’t have clear marketing strategies; as a result our football is not run professionally in the country. There is a need to promote good governance. We need to bring an integrity plan to deal with and uproot corruption in order for fair play to exist for all.

There should be a football development master plan that shall involve all developmental strategies that shall start at grassroots level and have clear monitoring systems that will produce quality players for all infield positions. “Professionalising football is not about just enforcing the club licensing rule but through commercialising of the sport.

In this way the PLE and EFA will support each other into the business wing, thus the PLE shall be able to and will be expected to pay reasonable subventions or grants to their member clubs,” he said. The Rangers boss added that the armed forces were bringing an unfair competition to other clubs; hence there was a need to engage government about the situation. Another contestant, ‘Samora’ Simelane said there was a dire need to invest on income-generating projects.

“This can encourage all associations and clubs to be self-sustainable. We need to train clubs to be professional thus commercialising football. They must take football as a business. If they become professional, the standard of the game football will be high and it will attract foreign investment. Foreign investors will buy equity from teams by injecting the much needed cash.

Let’s learn something from other countries, which already have foreign shareholders and directors,” he emphasised as a matter of fact. Simelane’s comments come in the wake of more elite league co-opting some of the foreign directors, who have helped to revitalise the interest of the much-loved sport in recent years. Simelane ended by saying there was a growing need for improved corporate governance and an in-depth understanding of legal matters.

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