WHAT CHANGE TO ESWATINI MEANS TO SPORTS?

MBABANE – “I announce on this historic day that we shall now be known as the Kingdom of Eswatini,” roared His Majesty King Mswati III last Thursday.

The landmark declaration was met with sounds of ‘Bayethe’ and whistles as the country returned to its pre-colonial name. It is expected, however, that the change of the country’s name from Kingdom of Swaziland will come with complications.

For example, all of eSwatini’s money bears the name of the Central Bank of Swaziland. There is a government letterhead, vehicle licence plates, uniforms of the military and national sports teams, and so on.

Sports associations are expected to align with His Majesty’s declaration and it must be mentioned, no time frame has been set. This includes notifying international federations where these associations are affiliated to of changes in names.

If we were to use football, the most supported sport in the country- the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) is an affiliate of the Confederation of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA), Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA).

ESwatini or not, after all, France is officially ‘The French Republic,’ they argued. The Czech Republic itself is relatively new, coming into existence along with the Slovak Republic when Czechoslovakia broke in two in 1993. The use of Czechia became official in 2016.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has also undergone many name changes.

From 1885 to 1908 it was called (without intended irony) the Congo Free State, while brutally ruled as a private venture by King Leopold II of Belgium. Later it became the Belgian Congo, then Congo-Leopoldville, and finally after its independence in 1960, the Republic of Congo.

We take a look at the possible name changes for sports associations.

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