CHARITY CUP BOUNCES BACK!
MBABANE – Premier League teams will be relieved to hear that the Charity Cup returns this season after an almost two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Charity Cup, which is the season opener, was last sponsored by Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC) and was last won by Mbabane Highlanders in 2019. This was Inkunzi emnyama’s first trophy under Managing Director (MD) Chief Ally Kgomongwe. This is not to suggest that EPTC will sponsor the returning edition. The Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya revealed on national radio, the Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS 1) Sports Show yesterday morning, about the return of the Charity Cup.
Competitions
Makhanya disclosed that the 2022/23 season would be run normally, as they wanted to have all the football competitions. He also said they were in talks with corporate companies that previously sponsored other cup tournaments such as EswatiniBank and Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVAF) and the talks were at an advanced stage. The latter were sponsors of the country’s biggest knockout tournament styled Ingwenyama Cup, that was blended with culture competitions. “Our talks are at an advanced stage over new sponsors for our cups, but what I can assure the nation is we are definitely going to have the charity cup this year,” Makhanya said this after he was asked whether a cup tournament would be hosted this season or not.
Played
He also said the Charity Cup would be played before the start of the 2022/23 Premier League season, alongside other cups, which were not affected by the organisation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The PLE AGM would be held after that of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA)’s meeting, where the promotion and relegation issues would be discussed. He further said the 2022/23 league was anticipated to start after both organisations’ AGMs. Meanwhile, the former Mamelodi Sundowns general manager assured the nation that the MTN sponsorship would continue as talks were about to be concluded.
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