Times Of Swaziland: E2 000 EACH FOR ‘BIRDS’ STARS

E2 000 EACH FOR ‘BIRDS’ STARS
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BY NTOKOZO MAGONGO on 29/06/2021 08:47:00


MBABANE – Mbabane Swallows’ victory over rivals, Mbabane Highlanders in the
MTN Premier League derby, came with some incentives for the players.
Each player at the red and white outfit was presented with a cash incentive of
E2 000 after James Nguluve scored a brace to beat Highlanders 2-1, coming from
behind on Saturday evening at Mavuso Sports Centre, Manzini.
A source close to the matter confirmed that after the game, President Bishop
Bheki Lukhele, who was present during the match, awarded the players with some
cash incentives. It was the first derby win for Swallows since Bishop Lukhele
took over on August 22, 2019. The win comes after Mbabane Highlanders Director
Ally Kgomongwe declared publicly that Highlanders were never going to lose a
game against Swallows while he was in charge.
A source close to the matter said Swallows was never going to afford to lose to
Highlanders especially as they still believed that they are title chasers.
Mbabane Swallows Communications and Marketing Manager Mancoba Mabuza said he
couldn’t go into specifics on when and how their players are incentivised.
“Mbabane Swallows FC players are incentivised all the time and that’s why
they are always motivated. I therefore would not want to go into specifics of
when and how they were incentivised because that would mean you’ll always
write a story on that. It happens all the time. Remember, these are
professionals who are full time employees of the club and they have monthly
salaries,” he said.
Pace
The win saw Swallows keep up the pace with Royal Leopard and Young Buffaloes who
are first and second on the log standings respectively with 61 and 55 points.
Swallows is third with 48 points with seven games remaining. Swallows has a game
in hand against Moneni Pirates and they can surge closer to Young Buffaloes with
a win. The game will be played on July 7 at KaLanga EFA Technical Centre.
Meanwhile, the man of the match Award went to Swallows substitute Zimbabwean
James Nguluve, who netted a brace in the second half to guarantee the maximum
points in the big derby.