‘BIG DERBY’ IN FINANCIAL BLOW

MBABANE – The mbabane derby, which has now been been fixtured as a double header, is a crowd puller on its own.

It is not a surprise that the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) had initially seen it fit to fixture the biggest game in the country’s footbal calendar as single header billed for tomorrow at Mavuso Sports Centre, Manzini. However, they then shifted it to this afternoon and made it a double header fixture as struggling Manzini Wanderers face ambitious and exciting rookies Nsingizini Hotspurs in the opening match.

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This decision, the PLE explained, was due to the fact that tomorrow is the FIFA World Cup 2022 final between France and Argentina in Qatar. However, the decision comes with dire financial loss for the host, Highlanders and Swallows who would have had to share the ticket sales collections after deductions.All four teams will now share the E162 500 collection if all 5 000 tickets are sold as expected after deductions by the PLE (15 per cent).

In essence, with each vying for E50, a sold out match totals E250 000 under the 5 000 tickets compared to E375 000 and more at Somhlolo National Stadium when the derby is a single header. The fixture can rake in as high as over E400 000 when both teams have the quality and are  competitive as they are now as the ‘No Man’s Land’ also comes in handy to carry thousands more as witnessed in the  2019 SwaziBank Cup  (EswatiniBank) semi-final derby a few years ago.

The stadium owner takes 15 per cent of the total collection, which out of E250 000 is E37 500, while the PLE bags 20 per cent, an equivalent of E50 000. This leaves the four teams with only E162 500 to share. Each team then gets E40 626, which could have seen Highlanders and Swallows share that money alone in a single header fixture. The teams must also cater for security and emergency medical services at the stadium plus the risk of heavy fines due to fans’ misconduct.

The sharing ratio is contained in the league’s Rules and Regulations under Article 19 (3) of the 2022/23, which states that; The PLE shall collect 20 per cent of the gross gate takings from all matches played in this tournament. Moreover, as if the 5 000 tickets and the deductions were note enough, the hosting teams still have to pay E2 000 each stadium booking fee.

Meanwhile, PLE Football Manager Pat Vilakati said teams involved in a double header agree in co-hosting. Vilakati said PLE does not forfeit club’s hosting rights while also making some reference to the league rules. Noteworthy is that Article 7.7 states that it is the onus of the home club to secure a venue while the same article states that should any club wish to request a change to its fixture, it must submit such request at least seven  days before the scheduled start of the match.

(Additional information by Chris Dlamini)

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