Tuesday Straight Talk

The smell of freshly cut grass, the roar of the crowd, the shock results that turn the established order on its head – these are the indelible hallmarks of a new football season.

In the Kingdom of Eswatini, the MTN Eswatini Premier League (PLE) has kicked off not just with the promise of excitement on the pitch, but with genuine, tangible hope for the future off it.

First, the necessary and sincere congratulations must go to MTN Eswatini. Their decision to elevate the sponsorship package from E19.5 million to a staggering E22.5 million is nothing short of heroic. In a football landscape often characterised by financial uncertainty, such a significant injection of capital provides a crucial backbone of stability. This money is the lifeblood of the league, ensuring operations run smoothly and, critically, allowing the PLE to invest in its own future.

What a future they are now formally investing in. The introduction of the Young Player of the Season Award is arguably the most progressive and strategically sound move the PLE has made in recent memory. It is a bold, necessary statement that affirms a commitment to developing local talent, signalling to every ambitious teenager in the kingdom that their skill will be noticed and rewarded. This is not mere window dressing; it is a foundational investment in the sustainability of Eswatini’s football ecosystem, and by extension, the national team, Sihlangu.

The opening weekend of the new season provided immediate, compelling drama, proving that predictability is a rare commodity in this league. Seeing giants like Mbabane Highlanders, Mbabane Swallows and Manzini Wanderers all fail to secure three points offers a fascinating glimpse into the competitive balance. While the shock results are great for generating headlines and keeping fans engaged, they also underline a crucial truth about a league operating with limited resources: When top teams lack structural grants and consistent financial stability, they become prone to inconsistency and vulnerability.

It is precisely this unpredictability, however, that the MTN sponsorship and the new young player award must now be leveraged to cement. The core aim of any small, developing league must be to professionalise its base and that starts with the players themselves.

The neighbouring example of South Africa’s Betway Premiership provides a clear blueprint. The rapid ascent of youngsters like the Orlando Pirates duo of Relebohile Mofokeng and Mbekezeli Mbokazi, directly into the national team, Bafana Bafana, demonstrates the powerful, positive spin-offs of recognising and promoting youth. These players, through exposure and reward, become assets for their clubs and indispensable resources for their country. The PLE’s new award should, and must, be the ignition switch for a similar pipeline of talent into Sihlangu.

However, for this initiative to genuinely bear fruit, it cannot exist in isolation. This is where the praise must segue into constructive criticism and necessary strategic suggestions. The Young Player of the Season Award is the beautiful flower, but the Under-19s League is the essential soil, in which the root system must be strengthened.

Currently, the Under-19s League, the very cradle of future Eswatini stars, is tragically undermined by a format played over just one leg. This short-sighted structure starves young players of the consistent, year-round competitive action they desperately need to transition into the rigours of the senior professional game. Talent is honed under pressure and persistence, not through a truncated half-season schedule.

The PLE must make a deliberate, immediate effort to strengthen this development tier. The move requires more than just goodwill; it requires a dedicated, operational plan.

First and foremost, the Under-19s League must be expanded to a full, two-legged season. This immediately doubles the competitive minutes available to youngsters and forces the clubs to maintain development squads for longer, more demanding campaigns.

Secondly, and perhaps more urgently, the PLE must aggressively seek a separate, dedicated sponsor for Under-19 knockouts and supplementary tournaments. A single-leg league campaign, even if expanded to two legs, still leaves significant downtime. Young players need to be kept active and competitive almost all year round. Imagine the value of a dedicated Under-19s Cup or Development Shield, sponsored by a corporate entity eager to invest in the youth. This not only keeps the youngsters playing, but also provides additional opportunities for scouts – both domestic and international – to identify talent. This is how the PLE can demonstrate that the Young Player of the Year Award is the start of good things to come, not the end of the conversation. It is about creating volume and consistency in competitive exposure.

While developing the youth is the long-term project, the senior league needs immediate adjustments to make it more exhilarating and financially rewarding for the teams operating on the thinnest of margins. The new E22.5 million sponsorship provides the perfect opportunity to implement a revised structure that benefits the clubs directly.

The Young Player of the Season Award should absolutely be followed by an expansion of the individual player recognition structure. There is a need to introduce a Defender of the Year and Midfielder of the Year Awards. These accolades incentivise specialist excellence, elevate the professional ambitions of players across the pitch, and provide more media interest and profile-building opportunities for the league. Every footballer wants to be the best in their position, and these awards give them a specific, tangible target to aim for.

However, the most immediate financial impact can be made by revising the incentives for performance.

The first-round incentive must be significantly revised upwards. The current E100 000 for the mid-season winner, while appreciated, is now simply too low given the overall sponsorship increase. This amount should be hiked to E300 000. Why such a significant jump? A E300 000 first-round prize dramatically raises the stakes for the first-half of the season, injecting excitement and genuine financial pressure right from the first kick-off. More importantly, this cash injection, received mid-season, acts as a vital grant. For a team struggling with transport, kit costs and meagre player allowances, E300 000 is transformative. It allows them to stabilise, potentially sign a crucial player or ensure better welfare for their existing squad, thereby boosting the quality of the second-round fixtures.

This leads us to the critical final point: The need for recurrent financial support that goes beyond prize money. For a small country with limited commercial resources like Eswatini, the clubs are the engines and they need fuel, not just performance bonuses.

More money must be directed to the teams in the form of operational grants. The painful truth is that Eswatini’s clubs are not yet established professional entities that can thrive solely on matchday revenue and kit sales. They are fighting for survival week in, week out. Established leagues, even in countries with vastly different economies, rely on grants from the central league administration to cover basic overheads.

The PLE, leveraging the increased MTN funding, must structure the budget to allocate a substantial portion as non-performance-based grants. These grants, distributed monthly or quarterly, are essential for covering administrative costs, travel expenses, training facilities and providing modest, but consistent player allowances.

A system of grants allows clubs to focus on administration and on-pitch coaching, rather than perpetual fundraising. It is the difference between surviving and thriving. This foundational support is the key to closing the gap between the top teams and the rest, further enhancing the competitive nature of the entire league. It ensures that the current unexpected losses of the ‘big guns’ are due to genuine competition and tactical differences, rather than a symptom of systemic financial instability that plagues every team equally.

The E22.5 million sponsorship from MTN Eswatini is a monumental show of faith. The Young Player of the Season Award is a visionary, necessary step. Now the hard work begins. The PLE must convert this moment of success into a sustained era of growth. This requires two strategic levers: an expanded, well-sponsored Under-19 system that feeds Sihlangu, and a revised senior league prize structure, including a boosted first-round incentive and the introduction of essential operational grants, that stabilises the clubs. Eswatini football deserves to ascend, and these are the foundational steps required to make that next leap.

The MTN Eswatini Premier League (PLE) has kicked off not just with the promise of excitement on the pitch, but with genuine, tangible hope for the future. (Pic: Premier League)