EFA, Tourism Authority sign MoU
MBABANE – The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA).
The event, which saw the two entities joining hands, was held yesterday at the EFA Conference Room.
ETA CEO Linda Nxumalo said with inclusion at the heart of the World Tourism Month celebrations, they had identified and partnered with empowerment-centric organisations as well as traditionally marginalised social groups to highlight the highly accommodating, non-discriminative nature of tourism sector.
The identified groups are the youth, differentlyabled people, agricultural entities and the sports fraternity. “Today we are honoured to unveil and solidify the Eswatini Tourism sector’s commitment towards supporting the country’s sporting activities with the signing of an MoU between the ETA and EFA,” Nxumalo said.
“Allow me to begin by affirming that there is indeed no better time than now to solidify the affiliation between ETA and EFA, especially in the view of the recent events, challenges and lessons presented by the COVID19 pandemic on the global operations, mainly in the travel and sporting sector,” she said.
Mandates
Nxumalo said the pandemic had highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration and the need for calculated alignment in advancing their respective mandates for the betterment of the economy. “The MoU has been guided by the invaluable lessons that have been magnified by these precarious times and reflects our robust efforts towards resuscitating the tourism and sports sectors in the country,” she added.
Nxumalo also said they commit to endorsing EFA’s efforts to host more tournaments. “We pledge to orient local players on Eswatini’s tourism products so that they can continue to be knowledgeable and resourceful ambassadors of the country when they go headtohead with players from other parts of the world,” she said.
Nxumalo said they firmly believed that their joint effort would increase visibility on the country as Africa’s best tourist destination.
Hosted
She also highlighted that over the years they had observed with sheer pride and great admiration the strides that the EFA had taken in putting Eswatini on the global map and affirming the country as a competitive sporting destination. “Thanks to the relentless and creative efforts, we have hosted some of the continent finest football greats from teams such as Egypt, Tunisia and Senegal among others.
Meanwhile, EFA President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane said both entities would benefit from the partnership. “Sports is now an industry. Sports has brought teams from across Africa which in turn boosts the country’s economy and boosts tourism in the country,” Simelane said.
He said sports help the country to be marketed, especially when local teams are playing away. “When local teams travel outside the border, they promote the country which make tourists want to visit the country,” the CEO said.
Simelane said the MoU came at the right time when the country would host the COSAFA under 20 in December. He further said ETA would also help football grow in the country.