PLE teams miss CAF licence deadline
MBABANE – It is either you have the CAF licence or no registration for the new season 2022/23. This is the situation the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) finds itself in following the latest CAF Club licensing requirements expected to be met by all elite teams to be able to get a licence to play in the upcoming 2022/23 season. The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) released its circulars last week informing the PLE that no club shall be registered without meeting the Confederation of African Football (CAF) licensing requirements which are the ticket to the licence for registration.
However, it has come out that most of the 16 elite clubs have missed the CAF deadline for the licensing. CAF had set the deadline for July 31 this year, but the EFA only held the licensing workshop with under 15 days before the deadline.
“They gave us about 10 days which is very unfair yet the requirements are so immense and money related, as right now every team must have a laptop, stadiums must have internet as players’ cards will no longer be carried to stadiums but loaded digitally in the morning of every match-day along with team lists and have offices with a permanent secretary, among other requirements.
“Looking at when the notification came to the PLE, just about 10 days or so before the deadline and we raised the matter with the EFA that it was impossible to meet the deadline and requested that they write to CAF and ask for an extension. Some teams, other than Highlanders and Leopard, managed to use the grace period which was about a week after the deadline and submitted their documents but there’s only around five teams that will get the CAF licence to register for the new season,” said a team official on condition of anonymity.
AFFECTS
The licensing also affects first division teams but the requirements vary a bit. The workshop was held mid last month at Sigwaca House where the EFA and PLE are housed. “Premier League and National First Division League clubs must fully comply with the CAF and EFA club licensing regulations and timelines to qualify to participate in football competitions of the forthcoming football season, domestically and internationally, as have been communicated by EFA.
In this regard, EFA, through the Licensing and International Affairs Department, has already implemented extensive workshops on the club licensing requirements expected of football clubs in the forthcoming 2022/2023 football season.
“No club at the Premier League and National First Division League therefore, will be allowed to register to play in the 2022/2023 football season without having complied with the club licensing regulations,” reads the latest circular by the EFA which was released this week also announcing the registration dates for teams and players as the first transfer window opens tomorrow until October 21, while the second window starts on January 16 to February 10, 2023.
Teams’ registration also starts tomorrow until the eve of the first round of matches of the season. “There has been no response yet from EFA, but as teams we’re still running around trying to organise ourselves but who has money for laptops now, we need the EFA’s help especially after COVID-19 era affected revenue for clubs,” said another club official who said his team was also in a dilemma.
PLE Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Makhanya said they were yet to receive formal communication from EFA about registration. Questioned further about the teams’ concerns for registration and possibly not making the cut to play in the elite stage in the upcoming football season, he conceded the challenges teams were facing.
CHALLENGES
“The Club Licensing requirements do not factor in the challenges clubs have had to face; no income from gate takings, a lack of sponsorships as most sponsoring companies are also reeling from the effects of the lockdowns, preseason preparations are costly, player recruitment is expensive and so yes, clubs are really feeling the strain in meeting the licensing requirements,” he said. Makhanya said it was tough last season ‘if not tougher’. “At least this year supporters and fans are back in stadiums,” he added.
EFA Communications and Marketing Officer Muzi Radebe could not be reached for comment but he has always insisted that clubs adhere to the expectations of CAF as that was also beyond their scope as a national football association.