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E6.5M FOR 2022/23 ‘Y’ELLO’ SEASON

16/09/2022 07:19:00 Ashmond Nzima

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MBABANE – Teams will compete for an increased E6.5 million purse in the 2022/23 MTN League season.

The revised sponsorship for the MTN Premier League and National First Division, which shows an increase of E500 000 as compared to the previous season, was announced by MTN Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wandile Mtshali before guests led by Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga at the Sigwaca House in Mbabane yesterday. Like in previous editions, the sponsorship would be spread over three years. This brings the total package for the period under review (2022/23 to 2024/25 seasons) to E19.5 million. The total increase for the three years is E1.5 million. MTN had first came on board in the 2002/03 season with a package of E300 000. The relationship has since stretched to almost two decades.

Excitement

During his address, Mtshali expressed his company’s excitement on committing to football once more. “Our partnership with the PLE remains invaluable and our commitment to making the lives of our customers, who are enthusiastic football supporters, a whole lot brighter remains a priority in the hearts of all MTNers. “In this new season, concerted effort will be placed towards driving return on our football investment. Our teams will be on ground in all stadiums, maximising on the benefits of this sponsorship property, which converges thousands at a single venue,” said Mtshali.
Giving a synopsis of the prize breakdown, Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya shared that the extra E500 000 would shared by the teams, saying football sides finishing outside the top six would no longer go home empty-handed. Previously, only the top six finishers in the MTN Premier League received prize money.

In the revised sponsorship, teams ranked seventh to 14th will receive E40 000 as prize money each on top of the E100 000 participation fee.
For the National First Division, prize money was previously for the top three. That is now water under the bridge, as football sides ranking fourth to 10th will share 140 000. The rest (bottom four) will get E10 00 each. A notable change in the prize breakdown for the Premier League, on the other hand, is the reduction by half of the first round ‘carrot’. The first round champions will now pocket E100 000.

Deal

“It wasn’t easy to negotiate for a new deal. It’s not that MTN was reluctant, but football had to come with a football case,” Makhanya highlighted.
Makhanya shared that there were set targets to enable the giant telecommunications company to consider renewal at the end of the three years in 2025. This includes the utilisation of the Mobile Money (MoMo) platform by the PLE and its affiliates. “The PLE must promote the Ayoba App to 40 000 supporters each season. “The PLE must recruit 8 000 supporters to download the MyMTN App each season,” reads the targets in part. Also present during yesterday’s festivities was Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane and Eswatini Sport and Recreation CEO Darius Dlomo. The former alongside PLE Chairman Mark Carmichael also celebrated the increased sponsorship for football.