PLE EASES 1ST ROUND ‘CARROT’ WINNERS ANXIETY

MBABANE - Despite a relegation quagmire in the topflight league this season, the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) remains committed to awarding the first-round incentive winners.

Both MTN League divisions offer incentives for any club that finishes the first half of the season at the top of the table. MTN Premier League first lap winners are guaranteed E100 000, while the National First Division (NFD) victors pocket E50 000. Nonetheless, only a single team, Denver Sundowns was confirmed demoted to the lower division instead of two clubs. Sundowns finished second from the bottom of the 2023/24 MTN Premier League log standings.

According to the 2024/25 MTN League rules and regulations, each of the two divisions should consist of 14 teams. However, this is not currently the case, due to the ongoing court battle by Manzini Wanderers. This case, which has dragged on for over five months, recently saw the court rule in favour of the ‘Weslians’. Sundowns and eventually bearers of relegation,
As it stands, the top-flight league has 14 teams, while the lower division has 13, with Wanderers still floating.

With the new campaign having kicked off two months ago, the premier league has completed six fixtures, while the NFD has entered its eighth games this weekend. Given the current situation, the PLE faces a potential headache in declaring the first-round winners if the court battles remain unresolved. The NFD is just four games away from concluding its first round, while the Premier League has seven games remaining. However, PLE Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pat Vilakati, has expressed some confidence that they would manage the situation as it unfolds.

“We’ll take it one game at a time and can’t predict what will happen before the week 13 (last first-round) fixtures are played. Games will continue as normal, and any necessary decisions will be made when the time comes,” said Vilakati. He emphasised that football should always emerge as the winner at the end of the day. As leaders in football, their actions should aim to promote the sport. Vilakati added that football must be the top priority for everyone involved. Providing further clarity on the matter, he said wondering about this subject matter was akin to worrying about whether the weather would permit the MTN Premier League matches scheduled for Wednesday to proceed.

“That will be determined by the day’s weather conditions, but we have a duty to schedule games and award the first-round (incentive) winners,” Vilakati concluded.
In an almost similar incident, individual winners of the player of the months are being awarded despite one team still not in action.  

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