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MBABANE – The Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) has dismissed strugglers Tambankulu Callies’ bid to play their game against Mbabane Swallows away from the Prince of Wales Sports Ground.
The Lubombo-based side, who are the visitors in this fixture, yesterday wrote to Premier League of Eswatini requesting that they move their clash away from the capital city. Swallows will be hosting them on Saturday at 3pm, according to a fixture released yesterday.
The club Director Sithembiso ‘Ngudze’ Mamba had pe- t i tioned the PLE chief executive officer’s (CEO) office, proposing that their game be moved to a venue that is line with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) and Confederation of African Football (CAF) standards. Despite having played at Prince of Wales Sports Ground two months ago, Callies had raised a number of concerns pertaining to the venue in their letter.
“There are no dressing rooms and toilets, thus a health hazard and risky for both teams. Dressing up or undressing in the open is an act of public indecency, which is a crime,”
MBABANE – Global club rankings have surprisingly revealed that the country’s three security forces teams are among the best soccer clubs in Eswatini.
The trio predominantly occupies the best ranks than any other non-uniformed Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) team. According to Opta’s Power Ranking for soccer clubs, Young Buffaloes, Royal Leopard and Green Mamba are only respectively separated by Mbabane Swallows and Highlanders in the first, third and fifth ranks locally.
Opta’s Power Rankings is a global team ranking system that assigns an ability score to nearly 13 500 football teams.
It is updated daily, with the last update for local teams being done last Tuesday.
It ranks teams from 183 different 1. 2. 3.
CALLIES’ REASONS FOR CHALLENGING
TO PLAY ATTOPRLIANYCAETOPFRWINACLEESOFSPWOARLTES :GROUND:
There are no dressing rooms and toilets thus it is a health hazard and risky for both teams.
Dressing up or undressing in the open is an act of public indecency, which is a crime.
There are no security barriers or
reads part of the letter directed to the CEO Makhanya’s office yesterday.
Callies are deep in the relegation zone, as they are 13th on the log with 14 points from 21 games.
Meanwhile, Swallows are on the spot with 44 points, and are still contending
Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) member countries and 413 unique men’s domestic leagues.
Army side Young Buffaloes are at the top as they rank 1 326, almost 1 180 places above MTN Premier League log leaders Green Mamba.
Green Mamba occupy the 2 501st spot globally.
Closer to Mandla ‘Stofu’ Dlamini’s men are Mbabane Swallows who rank1 546.
Eight-time MTN League winners Leopard are just 40 places above the 2 000th mark.
They are closely challenged by Mbabane Highlanders who sit on the 2 316 spot.
Worth noting is that most of South Africa’s (SA) DStv Premiership teams rank higher that local teams, but the likes Maritzburg United, Chippa United, Richards Bay and Jomo Cosmos are behind Buffaloes and Swallows.
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areas where one can seek shelter in case of violence or any other unforeseen situation.
The proximity of the fans to the field and easy access to it can be an intimidating factor to the match officials.
for the league title.
“There are no security barriers or areas where one can seek shelter in case of violence or any other unforeseen situation. This applies to team players, officials and even the match officials. The proximity of the fans to the field and easy access to it can be an intimidating factor to the match officials, thus they could be easily intimidated and influenced during the game in fear of their lives,” further explained Mamba in the letter.
Meanwhile, the CEO Kenneth Makhanya confirmed receipt of Callies’ request and said they unfortunately could not fulfil their request. Makhanya mentioned that it was the right of Swallows to fixture the game at Prince of Wales as per the rules and regulations. He also mentioned that an away team could not change a fixture.
“Unfortunately, their terms could not be met as none of the stadiums in the country currently comply with international standards. We’ve been compromising all along under this situation with the hope that things will get better one day. Beside that, rules expect us to control the last two fixtures; for now the rights solely belong to the hosting team,” said Makhanya.
Possible
Out of possible eight venues that could be used to host games by PLE, none of them meet either FIFA or CAF standards. The country books stadiums outside the country for its CAF category ‘A’ games. In the meantime, Somhlolo National Stadium is being refurbished.
Furthermore, the league rules and regulations also state that should any club wish to request a change to a fixture; such request must be submitted at least seven days before the scheduled start of the match. Article 7.3 further states that fixtures are only amended under extreme circumstances and at the discretion of the PLE.
MTN NATIONAL 1ST DIVISION Kappa Kappa 1 - 5 B. Swallows Rangers 1 - 0 U. Flyers
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