MBABANE – Capital city giants Mbabane Swallows FC’s challenges are far from over if the allegations surrounding the club are anything to go by.
Just weeks after announcing good news of the unveiling of investors Donaldo Birage Enterprise (DBE) from Mozambique, who were represented by Niczar Amade, there are new developments surrounding the registration of the club as a company.
Reports indicate that the team filed an application for a company, Incola Ebovu (PTY) Limited, three days ago. It is reported that the person who made the application and was listed as a director and shareholder of this company is Mvuleleni Cindzi.
It is alleged that this application was queried on the grounds that the principal objective of the company was: “To carry out the business of owning, running, operating and maintaining Mbabane Swallows Football Club and any other sports entity that the company may deem fit.”
The question then purportedly arose regarding the mandate of Incola Ebovu (PTY) Ltd and its authority to undertake the ownership, running and management of the club. It is alleged that the Registrar of Companies, Msebe Malinga, therefore, queried the application and asked for a company resolution and an agreement of authority from Mbabane Swallows FC (PTY) Ltd.
The Registrar of Companies, Malinga, was on record affirming these allegations and stating that the ‘Birds’ bid to register Incola Ebovu was rejected.
“This was a bit of an anomaly to the registrar, as I am aware that we have a company registered as Mbabane Swallows FC (PTY) Ltd, whose objective, among many, is the operation and oversight of the objectives of Mbabane Swallows Football Club,” Malinga said.
Notably, Swallows had been divided between two factions for months, namely the current management led by Acting President Absalom ‘Mvana’ Ngwenya and the other one under the leadership of Princess Lungile, which is referred to as Mbabane Swallows (PTY) Limited, a company registered with the Registrar of Companies.
The company had approached the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) in an attempt to take back leadership of the team. Nevertheless, their efforts were futile.
Further allegations suggest that the reason behind the attempt to register this team as a company stems from new developments. It is alleged that the team’s Mozambican investor refused to inject money into the accounts of Swallows FC unless the club is registered as a company.
Umkhonto KaShaka Chairman of the Board of Trustees Welile Mabuza neither affirmed nor denied these allegations. This publication had questioned him about reports suggesting an application had been filed to register a company under this team.
“I am still to engage the registrar on this matter, as it involves his office. I know there is an issue of confidentiality in these matters. I cannot comment on confidential issues because, whether there is an application or not, when the time is right, the club will announce. If we have registered a company, we will communicate same and share the purpose it will serve,” he responded.
It is reported that Donaldo was expected to put an E100 000 commitment fee upfront. However, they had not done so at the time of compiling this report.
“I am surprised at the speculations, as there is an agreement between the investors and Swallows FC. We earlier stated that we have proper channels of communication and do not rely on speculations and rumours. We will communicate matters concerning the club through those channels,” Mabuza said.
It is important to note that new football clubs are still prohibited from registering, as per the directive of the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) communicated yesterday. This decision follows the abolishment of sister teams or clubs under shared ownership.
However, applications for registration by zones may be considered, provided they are submitted to the EFA office. The EFA reserves the sole authority to grant membership to a league or approve a new club’s participation in competitions under its jurisdiction.
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