FOOTBALL MEDICS ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED

EZULWINI – It appears football tragedies as a result of lack of medical practitioners will now be a thing of the past.

Local football medics now want to be taken seriously and be recognised by both government and the Eswatini Football Association (EFA). As a result, they have established their own association called the Eswatini Football Medics Association (EFMA).
The news of the formation of the association was delivered by Dr Melusi Lukhele on Monday evening at Esibayeni Lodge during the combined graduation ceremony for the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine and Instructorship in Football Administration and Management. Present during the function was the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, EFA President Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa, his Vice Dr. Comfort Shongwe, EFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu and other football officials.

Revelation

Dr Lukhele made this revelation in his remarks while representing the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine graduates. “As we have seen fatal cases and one in Mahlanya where a Super League player collapsed and died in the field of play, another had a concussion which was not managed well and the player was sent to hospital the following day and unfortunately died. We have already established an association, the EFMA for medics and we hope to engage EFA soon with the constitution as we hope they will assist us to become their affiliate,” said Lukhele. The medical practitioner also cited the unfortunate incident at Killarney Stadium where a Malanti Chiefs player and Burundi international Papy Faty  died after collapsing in the field of play. “We need to take this as a learning experience so that such incidents can be avoided in future,” he said. The doctor further disclosed that from their course, they learned the standard safety procedure for football matches. “We need to have eight paramedics on the sideline, a fully equipped ambulance, stadium doctor and a qualified medic.”

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