Times Of Swaziland: EFA TO FOOT E1M  COVID-19  TESTING BILL

EFA TO FOOT E1M  COVID-19  TESTING BILL
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Themba Zwane on 22/03/2021 14:23:00


MBABANE – It is expected that the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) will
cater for COVID-19 testing expenses for both the premier league and national
first division teams, plus match officials.
The COVID-19 PCR test costs E850 per individual and testing of all premier
league and first division players will shoot the expenditure to close to E1
million. Each team, with players close to 30, is expected to need around E25 500
for testing. This means the 16 teams in the elite league will need around E408
000 and first division teams will need around E357 000. The money totals E765
000. This excludes expenses for the testing of match officials such as referees.
Sources
Highly placed sources close to the matter have confided that the EFA executive
will meet today to finalise on the entire rollout of the COVID-19 testing
programme ahead of the resumption of league games. Worth noting is that the
Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) has given teams 10 days to prepare for the
restart as of Saturday, March 20 and this period will elapse on Monday, March
29. The custodian of top flight football also disclosed that teams were allowed
to resume preparations with immediate effect, also stating that after
consultation with the EFA, and other stakeholders, they would give more details
on the resumption plan early this week. PLE Chairman Mark Carmichael was drawn
for comment and said it was a bit premature to divulge anything at this point.
He said they expected to soon meet stakeholders, including the government, to
finalise the restart plan.
Affected
Sources, on the other hand, highlighted that teams were seriously affected by
the spread of COVID-19 which included the PLE office. “Teams do not even have
money to pay players. The PLE is also financially crippled as they also rely on
a portion of gatetakings, and without games it means they do not have a source
of income. The EFA executive will meet tomorrow (today) and pointers are that
they will cater for testing expenses of the teams but it will be formally
communicated tomorrow (today) at the meeting,” the source confided.
Meanwhile, teams have openly disclosed that they were struggling following the
outbreak of the pandemic. Moneni Pirates were reportedly having not paid
players’ salaries, while Manzini Wanderers were said to have paid half
salaries and Manzini Sea Birds confirming a 70 per cent salary cuts.
Focus
The EFA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu was drawn for comment
and said the focus at this point was on the national team, Sihlangu. “We are
currently focusing on Sihlangu preparations for their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations
(AFCON) Qualifiers against Guinea Bissau and Senegal,” he said. Mngomezulu
said according to his knowledge, the executive will meet as per the EFA calendar
which stipulates that the next executive meeting was on March 31.