ESRC REBUKES EFA OVER FOOTBALL START

MBABANE – The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) has been scolded by the country’s sports mother body, ESRC, after announcing that they have targeted the end of July for football’s return.

The Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council (ESRC), which is the sports mother body in country, said it was only government that would announce when sports can resume after the suspension of all activities in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
ESRC Media Officer Dumisani Ntiwane said sports remained suspended in the country and only government would give a way forward for the resumption of all sporting activities in the country.

EFA through its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu announced last Thursday in a press conference that they were targeting the last week of July to resume football activities.

The suspension of sporting activities in the country was announced by the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs through the ESRC in mid-March, amid the coronavirus outbreak. Government, through Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, said sports remained suspended despite that the partial lookdown was eased last week.

“The sports fraternity is sternly warned not to set dates or inform their affiliates/members of potential dates of the resumption of their activities. No one has the power to do that really, because it was not the sports movement that called the cancellation of sporting activities in the first place but government,” he said.
Ntiwane said the sporting codes which are now announcing the resumption of their activities, were off-side as they would confuse the sporting fraternity. He said they had to adhere to what government proposed.

“We will remain guided by the government in whatever we do. People should remember that this lockdown on sports is merely part of the bigger COVID-19 rules and regulations,” he added.
Sports associations were requested last month by the ESRC to submit their plans and recommendations on how they propose to continue with activities under the COVID-19 environment

EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe requested not to comment on the matter and referred all queries s to the CEO Frederick Mngomezulu who was held up in a meeting for the better part yesterday afternoon.

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