UPROAR OVER ATHLETICS COACH SELECTION

MBABANE – An uproar has erupted over the selection of the coach to lead the African Games-bound Eswatini squad.

The team, consisting of five sporting codes, namely athletics, swimming, karate, boxing and taekwondo, was announced last week for the upcoming African Games in Ghana. The games are set to start on March 8 and end on March 23, 2024. The major point of contention revolves around the appointment of Thoba Mazibuko, the Secretary of Athletics Eswatini (AE), as the the athletics team coach. The delegation list indicated Mazibuko as the coach, but Maxwell Jele, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA), during the team announcement ceremony, it was stated that the travelling coaches would also serve as managers. “This decision was made to handle the administrative duties required for each sport and athlete during the games, the journalists who attended the announcement ceremony were clearly informed of this.” Jele said.

He went on to explain that for athletics, the Games Commission and Board decided that Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa and Bongiwe Mahlalela would be accompanied by Thoba Mazibuko, who would primarily take care of managerial functions. “This decision was made because Matsenjwa and Mahlalela are elite athletes who train outside the country and are coached by professionals from abroad. They will be in Ghana, specifically for the competition, so Mazibuko will handle the administrative duties associated with athletics during the African Games,” he clarified.

Jele also acknowledged that athletes often participate in various competitions around the world without being accompanied by coaches. He assured that the issue of athletics was thoroughly addressed during the team selection process. He mentioned that there might be some expected ‘uproar’ from certain individuals due to ongoing internal issues within the Athletics Association, but he emphasised that the EOCGA was dealing with the matter within the parameters of the Olympic movement. Coach Maxwell Nkabinde stated that the issue of coaches started in Eswatini back in 2008 after the AE’s  Annual General Meeting (AGM) which was held at the Park Hotel in Manzini. Nkabinde recalled that the newly-elected general secretary at that time told him directly, ‘Nyalo sitotakhela betfu bo coach hhai nine babo Basil Howe’ (loosely translated as, we will have our own coaches, not you coaches of Basil Howe). This statement revealed that it became clear at that time who their preferred coach would be. According to Nkabinde, for every international event, the Athletics Board would select their coach and justify it by stating that he was the national senior coach.

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Later, they were informed of a policy stating that the selected coach must be the one with more athletes in the travelling team. Nkabinde mentioned that this policy initially favoured their chosen coach, but it changed for the worse when deserving athletes from other coaches had a greater number. Instead of selecting the deserving athletes, the Athletics Board decided to substitute them for athletes of their preferred coach. Nkabinde expressed the need for clear and known selection policies and criteria for both athletes and coaches. Meanwhile, Athletics Eswatini (AE)President Zakhele Dlamini clarified that Mazibuko was not entered as a coach but as a manager. Dlamini explained that this decision was based on the fact that the two athletes who have qualified for the African Games, Sibusiso Matsenjwa and Bongiwe Mahlalela, are training and being coached outside the country. “According to their policy, the coach with the majority of athletes selected for national duty is the one who travels with the team. In this case, since there was no coach who met that criterion, Thoba Mazibuko was entered for managerial duties,” Dlamini said.

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Mazibuko himself stated that he did not feel comfortable addressing this matter, as he was not entered as a coach but as a manager. He clarified that the two athletes have their coaches based outside the country, and he would only be fulfilling managerial duties during the African Games. In response to queries, the Eswatini Sports and Recreation Council (ESRC) Media Officer Dumsani Ntiwane requested referring these questions to the concerned association. He emphasised that as a sports council, they did not interfere in the operations of national sports associations and could only encourage good governance practices. They do not impose themselves on any association.

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