Home | Sports | PLE BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ 7 DEMANDS

PLE BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ 7 DEMANDS

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

Sports Editor


As we all await government’s counsel on the resumption of sports action, there is a smallernyana matter of the seven demands submitted by the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Board of Governors to the leadership.


Call it a storm in a tea cup but the fact that 18 teams (or 24 or 22, depending on who you want to believe) signed the document compelling the Peter ‘Touch’ Magagula-led Executive Committee to call a meeting and have these issues addressed, was statement enough that all is not well within the inner circle of the PLE.


It also exposed some administration bungling, which has been swept under the carpet from the moment the organisation lost its leader in Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, gunned down by a bumbling fool – with no regard for life – in cold blood on January 14, 2018 at exactly 6:53pm.


For a long time, as Gamedze drove the organisation ship to calmer waters, his word became law; he was untouchable and everything he decided was adopted without any question. In the eyes of many, he could do no wrong.
It was the sort of obsequiousness that created a personality cult around one man that they would fear to go against him even when he was wrong. But like every mere mortal, he had his faults.


He was no Messiah. With the malleable incumbent Peter ‘Touch’ Magagula, suddenly the Board of Governors have woken up from their long slumber to question every decision taken and they are even pushing their luck with some of the issues.
One cannot help but realise that there are traces of democratic traits within the PLE structures.


It gives hope to our football that, no matter the size of the team, everybody can contribute towards the upliftment of our football.
Yes, some of the issues raised are clouded by personal agendas no matter how genuine they may look.


Sports Editor, Lwazi Dlamini, in his series of articles, unpacks the seven demands submitted by the PLE Board of Governors and gives his verdict as he best knows how.

1. COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The teams want the PLE to allow them to discuss teams’ situations under COVID-19, expectations, proposing a two-month programme or exercise to workshop and prepare them so that they adapt to the new culture of playing under the COVID-19 precautions, etc.
VERDICT: ONSIDE: This is a good point. The somnambulistic approach by the PLE Executive Committee regarding how and what plan they have in place with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic is not encouraging at all. But the same can be said of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) too. Both organisations are now using the government as a shield instead of also giving an indication of how football, as an entity, will tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in line with government’s precautionary measures. They are not telling the teams what the plan is during the pandemic and post-COVID-19. Yes, the EFA is still awaiting FIFA COVID-19 relief funds but as the governing football body in the country, they should be giving direction on what will happen next.
At this point everything is just quiet. We are somewhere in the middle of nowhere, so to speak.

2. E600 000 PLE FIFA
FORWARD GRANT

The teams submitted that they wanted an immediate release of the E600 000 grant the EFA gives to the PLE from the FIFA grant and have this equally distributed among teams as means of mitigating the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
VERDICT: OFFSIDE: The E600 000 grant from the EFA covers costs of the development programmes of the PLE – Under-17 and Under-20. The EFA has only given the PLE half of that grant – E300 000. Teams are not being honest here. They do not pay a cent to have the juniors playing in both Under-17 and Under-20 leagues. The PLE spends E10 000 weekly towards the leagues. That is the money from the EFA E600 000 grant.

3. A SHARE FROM
E9.4 MILLION FIFA GRANT

The teams also want a proposal sent to EFA that will grant PLE financial relief from the E9.4 million FIFA grant to assist clubs on the COVID-19 programme and further assist them on players’ salaries.
VERDICT: ONSIDE: While the EFA has sounded like a stuck record explaining that the E9.4 million was not the COVID-19 Relief Fund but to cover programmes for the rest of the year as it happens all the time, explaining that FIFA has opened the window of opportunity for the COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist teams would have calmed the team’s nerves. That process is still ongoing as the PLE has also submitted the required documents to EFA to then forward to FIFA. But that doesn’t stop the EFA, doing what some other leagues around the continent have done by assisting their teams with a cash injection to help in these difficult COVID-19 pandemic times. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) is a perfect example in this regard where even the government has chipped in to assist. At the end of the day, by the time the funds are availed, some of the teams might have disappeared into oblivion because it doesn’t look like there will be any football played in this country in the next four months or so.

4. PLE PROPOSALS TO
BE SUBMITTED FOR EFA
GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The teams also want some of the proposals to be submitted to the EFA General Assembly including the constitutional amendments.
VERDICT: ONSIDE: This one is also a good point. It is important for the PLE Board of Governors to discuss the proposals to be submitted to the EFA General Assembly, which is slated for June 28. But constitutional amendments can only be adopted during their own PLE Annual General Meeting then sent to the EFA for approval. It’s important for the PLE Executive Committee to be receptive to such suggestions, not be seen to be closing doors or sluggish in allowing teams to have an input.

5. DISCUSS STATUS OF THE 2019/2020 SEASON

Teams want to deliberate on whether or not continuing with the current football season is still viable or teams should just cancel it and allow proper preparations and planning for new season.
VERDICT: ONSIDE: This is a valid point. The endless wait on what will happen to the 2019/2020 season is creating anxiety and indecisions especially with many of the players’ contracts coming to an end this week. What are the teams expected to do? Renewing a contract involves giving players signing-on fees and other perks, where will the teams get the money from when they don’t even know when the players will kick the next ball?
Deciding on what happens to the 2019/2020 season, which has clearly imploded right before our eyes, will help everyone plan ahead. This silence and inactivity is killing the teams softly.

6.  A 16-TEAM LEAGUE
PROPOSAL FOR NEXT SEASON

Teams have proposed an increment to 16 teams in the Premier League and 14 in the National First Division.
VERDICT: OFFSIDE: This proposal is impossible to implement right now. It is not only financially impossible but it would be a logistical nightmare for the PLE. For a 16-team league, the PLE would need to have at least E300 000 before the start of the season to accommodate the extra E200 000 for the two extra Premier League teams (each team receives E100 000 when the season starts) and the extra two teams in the First Division. The MTN league sponsorship covers 14 Premier League teams and 12 First Division teams.
For an organisation that posted a loss of E33 000, for the first time, in its last financial year ending, June 30, 2019, a 16-team league is not feasible unless of course the EFA can take over the money-draining National First Division league.

7. SPONSORSHIPS

Teams highlighted that they would like to know issues of sponsorships in particular the 10 per cent share then given to the members of the PLE Executive Committee.
VERDICT: ONSIDE: The PLE Board of Governors deserves to be given feedback on sponsorship issues. On the issue of the 10 per cent shared by the PLE Executive Committee, this should apply to a NEW sponsorship, not renewal of the existing ones. The Executive Committee cannot share, say E600 000, when the National First Division doesn’t even have one knockout sponsorship. It doesn’t make sense at all.

Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image: