FLYING LOW FOLLOWING: ANXIETY OVER ‘BIRDS’ SALARIES DELAY

MBABANE - Capital city giants Mbabane Swallows players, will have to wait longer before receiving their May salaries.

Reports suggested that the 2023/24 reigning champions players have not received their pay for the month of May. It is said the team needs the MTN Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) prize money to pay their salaries. They are entitled to E1 million for winning the league. Mbabane Swallows Governor Sandile ‘Beyond 2000’ Zwane affirmed these reports. He was quizzed with regards to the delayed salaries by Eswatini Information Broadcasting Services (EBIS) Sport Show host Siphesihle ‘Sihlabani’ Nxumalo yesterday.

“Players know we are waiting for the prize presentation, as we explained the same to them after receiving correspondence from the PLE office,” he said. Zwane was also quizzed about other means used to get money, which would have been used to pay the salaries. In response he said they had requested help from PLE, but it was known money would only be released after presentation. He was further asked if gate takings would not help in solving salaries issue. “We opted to host at Mkhuzweni Technical Centre in the remaining games. We do not earn much there, as the team is paying a fine for assaulting a referee two years ago there,” he said.

The side generated at least E100 000 from gate takings after competing in the Ingwenyama Cup sponsored by Sincephetelo Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (SMVAF) and league games.
It was earlier revealed that after clinching the league title,  ‘Birds’ earnings for the past season hit E2.1 million,  excluding gate takings. Despite winning only one of four finals, Swallows gathered substantial earnings million across four tournaments. Their triumph in the Hospice At Home Charity Cup last August earned them E100 000. Additionally, they reached the finals of the MoMo Cup, the Trade Fair Cup, and the Ingwenyama Cup, securing runner-up prizes of E350 000, E150 000 and E530 000, respectively.

Swallows are not the only team facing financial challenges locally. Archrivals Highlanders and Denver Sundowns were earlier reported to suffer from the same challenge. Manzini hub giants Wanderers also appealed for help to pay players their salaries from fans in November. The club had pleaded for E50 000 to ease their crisis from supporters. The club reportedly have a monthly wage bill of E130 000.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: