MBABANE – The Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council (ESRC) has introduced a bold new policy regarding the travel of national teams and clubs to international tournaments.
Stringent conditions have also been put in place for bus travel, while any trips beyond four selected southern Africa countries will be required to be by air.
The sport council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Darius Dlomo, confirmed the development in a brief comment before returning to a meeting.
“Our bus only transports athletes to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique. Beyond that, it is too risky to travel by road and athletes must fly,” Dlomo said, referring further clarification to Senior Media Officer, Dumsani Ntiwane.
Meanwhile, Ntiwane elaborated that the ESRC’s 35-seater bus is only insured for travel within the listed countries. He said the risk is simply too high in countries beyond them.
“In the past, we had incidents where teams were stranded at night, perhaps just due to a simple puncture or breakdown. This might expose them to other risks that could be avoided during day travel,” he explained.
The media officer added that the policy is a holistic measure intended to protect national teams and ensure they are not exposed to danger in the name of sport.
“It is already in full force and we expect all national sports associations to adhere to it as they have received the correspondence,” he said.
He further said another new development is that no team will ever depart without being properly insured. Ntiwane said this is done so to prevent situations where the government might be held liable.
A group of athletes before leaving for an international assignment. (Courtesy pic)