MBABANE – Big blow for domestic football.
This was after Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya dropped the bombshell that there would be no knockout tournaments in the current 2022/23 season. The PLE however was able to get one league sponsor, the 2022 MoMo Cup, which was won by rookies Nsingizini Hotspurs. Makhanya was quoted on national radio, the Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS 1) Sports Show hosted by Siphesihle ‘Sihlabani’ Nxumalo yesterday saying that there would be no cup competition this season. This is after he was asked if the Premier League would stage knock-out tournaments this season to which he responded.
“We will not have cup competition for the 2022/23 season. Maybe we will have them next season because the time is already not on our side,” Makhanya said. The last time the league had a major tournament was post-COVID 19 era, the 2019/20 season and the last competition was the Ingwenyama Cup, which was halted in the quarterfinals due to the escalating number of covid-19 cases then. Meanwhile, the CEO was once quoted saying that they were working on getting more sponsors and he said the Trade Fair was definitely going to be played this campaign. The issue of not having tournaments has forced the PLE to use the league second best as envoys for the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup. On the other hand, Makhanya could not be reached for comments, as his phone rang unanswered by the time this report was compiled.