Times Of Swaziland: BUSTED!

BUSTED!
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BY ASHMOND NZIMA  on 07/05/2019 03:26:00


MBABANE – The Hhohho Regional Football Association (HRFA) has acted swiftly to
foil a registration cards scandal which is threatening to throw its operations
into disarray.
Countless regional football sides are said to have been implicated while teams
from a minimum three leagues under Hhohho have been hauled before the
Disciplinary Committee to answer on charges of producing fake players’
registration cards. The leagues include Ndzingeni, Mdzimba and Mbabane. They
were found guilty as charged and were docked points for the games they used the
alleged defaulters.
The teams cannot be named as it could not be immediately ascertained if they had
appealed the verdict or not.  The fake cards, which are almost the size of a
national Identity Document, are allegedly being produced by a syndicate based in
Manzini. One of the affected teams is from northern Hhohho and has been docked
nine points.
Confirming the latest developments, HRFA Secretary Nkosingiphile Shongwe said
their worst fears were confirmed when the questionable cards were taken to the
office for scrutiny. It was found that they did not appear in the system. Cards
for lower regional teams are produced by the regional football bodies. Those
competing in the Super League, which is the country’s football third-tier, are
register electronically at the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) through the
modernised system styled FIFA Connect.
Recently, it was reliably gathered, there was a protest in a one of the Hhohho
games involving a team challenging for promotion to the National First Division.
Two of the players’ cards were believed to be questionable and the EFA was
asked to scrutinise them.
Shongwe confirmed the latest developments, saying EFA cleared only one player.
This could throw the region’s football top-tier into disarray, as Hhohho have
to also produce a team to compete in the National First Division.
“Matters involving teams campaigning in the lower leagues are dealt with by
the Disciplinary Committee while for those in the Super League we rely on
EFA,” said Shongwe.