By 
By Chris Dlamini
It is expected that the month of September will come with a huge expenditure for the Eswatini Football Association (EFA).
An estimated over E2 million is expected to be the amount of money the EFA will fork out due to various upcoming international games. Part of this bill will depend on whether the Somhlolo National Stadium’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) inspection brings out negative results or not.
If the results are negative, this would mean Eswatini would still not be able to host official international games under CAF and the Federation of International Football (FIFA).
The country has been depending mainly on neighbours South Africa (SA), and also Mozambique for hosting, which comes at a huge cost for the country.
The senior national team Sihlangu Semnikati alone spent over E0.9 million per game with players’ allowances inclusive, as well as stadium hire fees of up to E200 000 per game.
The clubs also paid dearly for stadiums in SA and Mozambique, but at times, they got assistance from the EFA of up to E500 000 cater for the cost. As is, MTN Premier League champions Nsingizini Hotspurs and Ingwenyama Cup champions Royal Leopard will be resuming their games in September, while Sihlangu will be travelling to Cameroon and Libya for the Word Cup Qualifiers round seven fixtures.
Air tickets for direct flights to Cameroon from Johannesburg, SA, around that period cost a minimum of E9 203 to and from Cameroon. For the Libya trip, the cheapest return ticket is E13 385.
Effectively, both trips could cost around E677 640 (E0.7mln) on top of the anticipated assistance to Nsingizini and Leopard.
The EFA also has to pay players’ allowances from training to games, and these vary, depending on the results. A win means each player earns E3 000 while it gets lesser for a draw and defeat.
Furthermore, Young Buffaloes Ladies will represent the country in the COSAFA/CAF Champions League qualification games in the same month, and that is expected to be in SA. A participation fee of around E250 000 to E275 000 is paid annually for the competition, which the EFA handles.
When all these monies are brought together, they amount to slightly over E2 million. However, since the EGA bought a bus, transport expenses were reduced, but still, the expenditure looks set to remain around the E2 million, just slightly less if it is any better.
Meanwhile, the World Cup Qualifiers’s first fixture against Cameroon is around September 6, then about three to four days later, the Libya match gets underway. It could be a one-way trip for Sihlangu before they return home.
EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe’s cellphone rang unanswered when he was sought for comment.
