BUSTED!
MBABANE – The Hhohho Regional Football Association (HRFA) has acted swiftly to foil a registration cards scandal which is threatening to throw its operations into disarray.
Countless regional football sides are said to have been implicated while teams from a minimum three leagues under Hhohho have been hauled before the Disciplinary Committee to answer on charges of producing fake players’ registration cards. The leagues include Ndzingeni, Mdzimba and Mbabane. They were found guilty as charged and were docked points for the games they used the alleged defaulters.
The teams cannot be named as it could not be immediately ascertained if they had appealed the verdict or not. The fake cards, which are almost the size of a national Identity Document, are allegedly being produced by a syndicate based in Manzini. One of the affected teams is from northern Hhohho and has been docked nine points.
Confirming the latest developments, HRFA Secretary Nkosingiphile Shongwe said their worst fears were confirmed when the questionable cards were taken to the office for scrutiny. It was found that they did not appear in the system. Cards for lower regional teams are produced by the regional football bodies. Those competing in the Super League, which is the country’s football third-tier, are register electronically at the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) through the modernised system styled FIFA Connect.
Recently, it was reliably gathered, there was a protest in a one of the Hhohho games involving a team challenging for promotion to the National First Division. Two of the players’ cards were believed to be questionable and the EFA was asked to scrutinise them.
Shongwe confirmed the latest developments, saying EFA cleared only one player. This could throw the region’s football top-tier into disarray, as Hhohho have to also produce a team to compete in the National First Division.
“Matters involving teams campaigning in the lower leagues are dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee while for those in the Super League we rely on EFA,” said Shongwe.
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