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MBABANE – “Go educate the supporters about your roles.”

The above statement was made by Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Football Manager Pat Vilakati, when addressing elite league team doctors during their workshop, which was organised by the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Medical Committee chaired by Welcome Motsa at Sigwaca House on Saturday.

The former PLE Chief Operations Officer (COO) urged the medics to educate their supporters about the roles of team doctor to avoid being insulted when executing their jobs during games. This was after some medics revealed that it was a challenge to do their job as sometimes supporters accused them of carrying foreign substances into the pitch when attending to injured players.

“You should educate the supporters through your Public Relations Officers (PROs) during road shows or on radio on how you carry on your jobs,” Vilakati said.

He also said as an organisation responsible for elite leagues games in the country, they were prepared to assist to avail stretches in all the stadiums and sports grounds, but urged the team doctors to visit the venues to a make a preliminary check-ups. These check-up by the medics would then make a comprehensive report on which stadiums lacked the stretchers.

On another note, the football manager encouraged MTN National First Division (NFD) sides to desist from hosting their home games mid-week, especially on Wednesday as most players in this division were school-going pupils. He said this would make other teams in the NFD to be relegated not just that they under-performed but due to the unavailability of players.