‘Reviving pool was tough, tension still there’ MUNTU DLAMINI BIOGRAPHY:
IN our second edition of The Chat Hub in your lovely read, Eswatini Sunday, we go off the boxing ring, as we had Pearl Dlamini-muir, an International Boxing Association (IBA) Executive Board member last week, and move on to the tables - pool (some often mistake it for snooker) that is.
Eswatini Cue Sports Association (ECSA) President Muntu Dlamini is our feature. He is the backbone of this new mother body alongside several others who believed it was possible to revive pool from its slumber due to power politics. Eswatini was going huge on the sport until after hosting the World Blackball Championships and the Africa Blackball Championships, now called All Africa Blackball Championships. Where is the sport now after over 10 years of reviving it following the death of the initial mother body, Billiards Association of Swaziland (BAS) Dlamini shares with us his achievements as president and their future plans. He also speaks out about the country’s sports budget allocation annually. Read on as Dlamini ‘cues’ a good one for you about the table game.
ES: Tell us about yourself. We want to know who Muntu Dlamini is.
Muntu: Well, Muntu Dlamini is a humble old family man who loves sports. Although I spend a lot of time in sports, I try to balance my time with my children.
ES: Have you always been into sports, or is it just a passion for pool?
Muntu: I have always been a sports person. I used to do karate, then soccer. I am a former Management Committee (MC) member of a former premier league team, Pastor Limited from Big Bend, and an ardent Manchester United supporter. With time, I got exposed to pool, which I got hooked into to date.
ES: Are you getting any support from the people closer to your heart like your family?
Muntu: Yes, very much, my sons follow pool. They normally tell me about results I haven’t seen. They support me a lot, especially since I lead the sport.
ES: What has been your highlight so far since you assumed the president’s position at ECSA?
Muntu: It has been the support of the Sports Council that has got us where we are. We have been able to participate in two regional/continental championships, in Zambia, in 2022 and in South Africa, in 2023. Proudly, we had both men and women senior national teams assembled but we couldn’t take the women squad last year due to a tight budget. The recent support in hosting the Regional Eswatini Pool Festival was the cherry on top.
ES: If you were to change anything for the betterment of sports in the country, what would it be, especially given the meagre national budget allocation of around E19m? We recently learned from the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) that producing an Olympic medallist is worth an E8m budget per athlete.
Muntu: I would provide incentives to companies who help with sports sponsorships and give them a tax rebate. In that way, more would sponsor sports. There is close to zero you can do without a sustainable budget.
ES: What do you think about Eswatini and the first two All Africa Blackball Championships in 2022 and last year?
Muntu: We are on the right track. True, we did not perform well in Zambia as a team, but individually, we were up there, and it showed in the All Africa Pool Association (AAPA) pool rankings. It was in South Africa that we were the most feared team until over-excitement got the better of us. We gave away easy games after an electric start. It gives us hope that we can steal the next event.
ES: Where do you see the sport in the next five years?
Muntu: We are likely to be professional or semi-professional. We will have players who will live and depend on the sport. Introducing the other codes like snooker and heyball can fast-track that as it’s all Cue Sports.
ES: In terms of sponsorships, you attained two for E40 000 each, one from Eswatini Post and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) even before you had this new association replacing the defunct Billiards Association of Swaziland (BAS), then there is Dixie’s International for Manzini Regional Pool Association (MRPA) which also came while you and your team were still pushing for BAS revival and readmission and recognition by the Eswatini Sport and Recreational Council (ESRC). How was the tension at that time as some were still opposing your efforts, having difficulty embracing change when it seemed inevitable?
Muntu: Yeah, it was tough. Tension was there. Actually, it still is, but I think being focused and knowing your goals helped me a lot. Dogs will always bark at a moving car. Had I given those critics much attention, we would not have achieved a thing.
ES: The dissolved BAS, on recommendation of the ESRC, successfully hosted both the World and Africa Blackball Championships as the sport was on the rise domestically, with Manzini the dominant region even to date. There were over 40 International standard pool tables contributed by the World Billiards Federation as assets of the then mother body, does the new Eswatini Cue Sports Association (ECSA) have those tables as its assets, if not, what happened to them as there should have been a handover?
Muntu: No, ECSA does not have those. We didn’t inherit those tables. When we established ECSA, we wanted to close the BAS chapter for progress. So, the least said about BAS and those tables, the better. ECSA is moving forward as the current mother body now.
ES: ECSA has also been seen doing good work with fostering development and gender equality in the sport there is even a development league in Malkerns and a national ladies league sponsored by Nongoloza. Are you happy with your progress so far?
Muntu: Yes, we’re trying hard in that aspect, even though I think we can do better. We thank sponsors like Nongoloza for helping us. We also thank the Sports Council for both their guidance and financial support in developing the youth. This year’s focus will be more on the youth and ladies.
ES: ECSA has three regional associations affiliated to it but one. What is the challenge with Shiselweni?
Muntu: Yes, we had a challenge with Shiselweni, but it is a thing of the past now as we already have a singles league that is ongoing, and eight (8) teams are ready to start the SRPA League. So, things are shaping up for all four regions.
ES: When are we going to have a national league to boost national teams’ selection and the standard of play?
Muntu: We are in the process of negotiating with a reputable sponsor for that initiative. If all goes well, we should start anytime this year. There’s still a long way to go, but unison is essential. Positive criticism is welcome so long as we progress together. We also aim at breaking into the National Sports Awards, which is one of our goals.
ES: Thank you for your time and all the best going forward.
Muntu: Thanks for the opportunity,
Nkhosi.
▸ He is a family man.
▸He is in the marketing sector at Eswatini Post and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC).
▸ He is behind the country’s pool sport, having a new and recognised body known as ECSA.
▸ Dlamini has already led Eswatini back into the international front, having been to the All Africa Blackball Championships in 2022 and last year, over two decades later due to power politics that grounded the sport.
▸ He is a former Pastor Limited FC Management Committee (MC) member.
▸ Academically, he holds a B.com degree with majors in Business Administration from UNESWA, an MBA from UNISA, and a number of programmes relevant to his profession.