SWALLOWS FACE POINTS DEDUCTION DILEMMA

MBABANE – City giants Mbabane Swallows are at risk of losing points in the 2024/25 MTN Premier League season, if they do not appoint a head coach in the near future.
The ‘Beautiful Birds’ have been without a permanent head coach since the departure of championship-winning mentor Caleb Ngwenya, who has now found a new home at Moneni Pirates. This transition was confirmed following the official announcement from the ‘Sea Robbers’ of Moneni. Ngwenya succeeds Ghanaian Christopher Ennin, a former Swallows coach, who recently made headlines by signing a two-year contract with Samartex FC back in his home country of Ghana.

Currently, Umkhonto KaShaka are being managed by their assistant coaches, Sindiso Gama and Musa Mamba, while the search for a new head coach is set to begin after a meeting of the management committee (MC), as stated by Public Relations Officer (PRO) Knowledge ‘Bhambo’ Ngwenya. According to the 2024/25 MTN Premier League Rules and Regulations, the Premier League has the authority to grant a team that has lost its coach a one-match grace period to find a replacement.Article 6.2 (k) of the rules specifies that a club losing a head coach during the season will be allowed this grace period, however, they must appoint an acting coach who holds the required EFA Coaching Qualifications.

suitably

The regulations stipulate that, after this grace period, if the club fail to secure a suitably-licensed coach, they will face a deduction of points until an appropriately-licensed coach is appointed. ‘Bhambo’ confirmed that the team were currently under the guidance of Gama, whom he described as a qualified coach. “He is registered as the first assistant coach,” he stated succinctly. After being provided with an extract of the relevant rules regarding their current predicament, the PRO noted that Caleb officially departed the club on Monday.
“Given that our head coach left just yesterday (Monday), we are yet to convene as management to make a decision, which we will subsequently communicate,” he said.

unsuccessful

Efforts to reach the PLE Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pat ‘Kungumusa’ Vilakati for comments were unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report, as his phone rang unanswered. It is noteworthy that Swallows’ sworn rivals, Mbabane Highlanders, were recently warned by the PLE that they would forfeit points, should they fail to secure a head coach.  
This was conveyed by PRO Khulekani Nkambule, who stated: “We are working diligently to appoint a head coach before our next match, as the PLE has made it clear that we could face point deductions if we continue without one.” Nkambule further revealed that the PLE had indicated that the club would have been stripped of their victory against Nsingizini Hotspurs had they not been cautioned. In response to the PLE’s warning, Inkunzi’emnyama appointed former MTN National First Division (NFD) Coach Thembela Dlamini as a replacement for Mthunzi Ginindza, who has joined Botswana’s Extension Gunners.

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