‘BULL’ OWE 2012 CHARITY CUP VOTING MONEY

Mbabane Highlanders players pose before a game in this file photo.

MBABANE – The cat is finally out of the bag. One of the main reasons Mbabane Highlanders failed to qualify for the second consecutive time in the Swazi Telecom Charity Cup is that the capital city giants have an outstanding debt with the sponsor, the Swaziland Posts and

Telecommunications Corporation (SPTC) dating back to the 2012 edition.
Highlanders also missed out in the 2013 edition of the season opener. This newspaper has gathered that the debt amounts to close to E100 000 after a bank cheque provided by the club when buying the voting cards in 2012 was dishonoured.
The team Managing Director Bheki ‘Rubber’ Simelane confirmed that the capital city giants have an outstanding debt with the sponsor, SPTC, dating back to the 2012 edition.

He, however, could not reveal the exact amount of money being owed.  “The team has a lot of debts and yes, we do owe some votes for the 2012 edition. That’s why I feel the team fans are the ones who should have voted for the team. It is sad that we did not qualify and I am in full support of charity but I cannot vote using the team’s resources as my duty is to rebuild the team,” Simelane said.

The six teams that have qualified for this year’s event are, namely; Green Mamba, Young Buffaloes, Manzini Wanderers, Manzini Sundowns, Royal Leopard and Mbabane Swallows. In a repeat of last year’s Charity Cup semi-final play-offs, Manzini Wanderers will face Royal Leopard at 4pm. Mbabane Swallows and Manzini Sundowns will meet in a repeat of the 2012 semi-final in the first game at 2pm at Somhlolo National Stadium on Sunday.  

Simelane said the team was not going to force its way into the tournament by spending a lot of money while they were rebuilding the team. He said it was important that they focused on building the club and also making sure that the team performed well throughout the season in particular the MTN Premier League.

Simelane decried the fact that it was now left to team bosses to do the voting instead of the fans. He said when the tournament was started 12 years ago, it was for the fans to vote but due to the pressure from the armed forces teams, the directors of the teams are now forced to vote their clubs in.

“Teams are now spending a lot of money voting to be in the top six while the fans should be the ones voting for their teams,” he said.
SPTC Corporate Communications Manager Nqobile Magagula said information concerning the matter was with the Premier League of Swaziland (PLS). She said all the teams paid for the voting cards on Sunday and they were not given on credit.
“I am not aware of teams owing votes,” she said briefly.

PLS Chief Operations Officer (COO) John Mazibuko said they had no record of any team owing voting money.
“We are not aware of this matter and if it is true I hope they are going to let us know.
“What we know is that the teams purchase the voting cards and we are not aware that they were at times previously given in advance without paying,” he said.

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