Stop taxing companies backing sports – Ankel

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MBABANE – “Government should refrain from taxing companies sponsoring sports in the country.”

These were the words of former Umbelebele and Manzini Wanderers utility players Adam ‘Ankel Malume’ Dlamini when quizzed on what he could change in the landscape of local football, should he by chance elected into being Eswatini Football Association (EFA) president.

He said his first task would be to engage government and forge ways on how to professionalise the sport in the country. “I would engage the relevant authority in the country to urge them to stop taxing companies sponsoring teams and those involved in other sports,” Dlamini said.

He said there was no way local companies would take out their money and pumped it in football due to the hefty taxes imposed to them by government. “The companies are restricted by these huge taxes they pay to the government,” he said.

The former national team Sihlangu player said in other countries, the companies that were putting their money into sports were exempted or pay less taxes, which he thought government should take a leaf from, in order for Eswatini football to reach greater heights.

Dlamini’s comments come at a time when most of the MTN Premier League teams are facing financial challenges in meeting day-to-day expenses, especially paying players’ salaries. This publication recently reported that Eswatini players are the lowest paid in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Meanwhile, the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) recently highlighted that it was finding it difficult to get sponsors after the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving it with two tournaments for the teams to play for, the league, which is sponsored by MTN Eswatini and the Ingwenyama Cup, sponsored by Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVAF).

It is worth mentioning that Eclipse, Luphohlo Commodities and Embiveni Meats are some of companies sponsoring local elite league teams, Mbabane Swallows, Ezulwini United and Nsingizini Hotspurs respectively.