SOMHLOLO DAMAGED
Stakeholders own up to damages during meeting with ministry yesterday
MBABANE – After the Ingwenyama Cup semi-finals over the weekend, an inspection by relevant stakeholders discovered that there were concerning damages at Somhlolo National Stadium.
This follows a degraded state of the stadium after last Sunday’s semi-finals games. The semi-finals involved Young Buffaloes playing against Green Mamba and Mbabane Swallows playing against Mbabane Highlanders. As a result of these two games, a record crowd of over 10 000 crammed the venue, which is still undergoing rehabilitation to meet CAF standards.
Reports indicate that the condition of the stadium was spoiled by both fans and teams. It was discovered that some dressing room walls were blemished with a black substance and the pitchside fence was also damaged by fans, among other damages. However, the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs has stated that the parties involved in the booking of the stadium have owned up to the damages. The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) and the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) jointly hosted this tournament and also paid the rental fee.
Responsible
A well-placed source in matter stated that the stakeholders who booked the stadium were responsible for ensuring that it was maintained and left in the same condition they found it in before it was booked. The source further said the ministry had clearly spelt out what was expected of the stadium after the two games. This was during a tour of the venue by the stakeholders last Thursday. “During an organised tour, one of the goals was to ensure that the parties observed the condition of the stadium well ahead of the games. This was because the CAF stadium inspection team is expected to arrive to assess the venue,” the source said.
It is worth noting that the ministry took EFA, PLE and the clubs on another tour yesterday to assess the damage. The tour concluded with a meeting where they discussed a way forward. The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Communications Officer,
Sibongiseni Zondi, confirmed some of the damages that were discovered but without being specific. “We can confirm that there were some damages to the facility during the games held on Sunday. The ministry had a meeting with all the stakeholders who had booked the stadium to jointly assess the damage today (yesterday),” Zondi said.
Determine
He further stated that the stakeholders owned up to the damages and that consultations and engagements would continue to determine the next steps to be taken. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that some clubs have been complaining about the Ingwenyama Cup sharing formula, which saw PLE getting a lion’s share of the over E500 000 gate collections. The PLE has also raised its concerns over the 10 per cent stadium levy. From last week’s action, it amounted to about E55 000.
Immediate comments from the stakeholders were not available at the time of compiling this report last night.
In a similar incident, a Highlanders sprinter once tore the synthetic tracks at the stadium during the 2022 MoMo Cup. The PLE was held accountable, where they ended up being charged about E50 000 to fix it.