SWAZILAND AMONG 19 COUNTRIES IN TODAY’S CAF DRAW

MBABANE – Mbabane Swallows’ exploits in the CAF Confederations Cup are putting Swaziland as a country on the map.

Ahead of the draw of the group phase of the Total CAF Champions League 2017 and Total CAF Confederation Cup today in Cairo, Egypt, Swallows are among the qualified clubs to be drawn from just 19 countries. CAF has 52 member associations.

Tunisia leads the pack with the maximum representation in the two competitions, two each and four in all. Following Swallows’ success in the continental secondary club tournament, the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) will also smile all the way to the bank.

Reaching the 16-team group stages comes with a ‘carrot’ of about E3.6 million (current exchange rate), but up to 10 per cent share of the money goes to the national federation. As a result, the NFAS is set to pocket no less than E360 800 if the red and white ensemble do not reach the quarter-finals.

This is standard practice even in the top-tier tournament styled CAF Champions League.
However, in the event Swallows reach the knockout stage, the NFAS will start getting a reduced share (five per cent). The top two teams in each of the four groups will progress to the last eight. They will get E4.5 million while their football associations will pocket E17 500 each.

Up to E820 000 will be deposited into the country’s football mother body’s bank account if Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati’s troops defy all odds to win the tournament. Swallows can walk away with E15.5m.

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