(At Madlenya House)
MBABANE – Is the Mbabane Swallows National Supporters Committee (NSC) banking its hopes on the PTY faction to save the sinking club?
This question came to the fore after Mbabane Swallows (PTY) Limited Chairman Bongani Dlamini revealed that ‘Birds’ NSC Chairman Mboni Dludlu wrote to him seeking a meeting.
Dlamini revealed this during a media briefing held at Madlenya House yesterday, reacting to claims by ‘Birds’ Public Relations Officer (PRO) Knowledge ‘Bhambo’ Ngwenya that the PTY Limited faction had once again requested a sit-down with the Mbabane Swallows management.
The chairman refuted the assertions made by the award-winning PRO on the Voice of the Church (VOC) Sports Show, hosted by Thabiso Shabangu, that the PTY side initiated the dialogue.
“We have never requested a meeting with them. The issue of a meeting was brought forward by NSC Chairman Mboni Dludlu. He is the one who requested a meeting with us,” Dlamini said.
He revealed that he asked Dludlu to outline the agenda, stating that the NSC chairman wanted to understand the position of the PTY.
“He said they wanted to create a platform for direct engagement, identify common ground and explore practical cooperation between the two parties,” Dlamini said.
He added that another item listed on Dludlu’s agenda was arresting divisions between the parties.
“We told him that we cannot make ourselves available at the eleventh hour,” he added.
Meanwhile, PTY PRO Vusi Sibisi said the Umkhonto KaShaka management had shut the door on discussions themselves.
On the other hand, Dludlu confirmed that they initiated the meeting and noted that it was not the first time engaging them.
“What is happening is not good for the team, and as the NSC, we are responsible for how the supporters feel about what is happening in the club,” Dludlu said.
He revealed that he had called Dlamini previously to inform him that he would request a joint meeting with the current management, a proposal to which Dlamini agreed.
“I then reverted to Bongani and informed him that the current management had agreed, so he must provide the date and venue for the meeting,” he said.
He stated that he made numerous follow-ups, but Dlamini did not respond, leading him to give up initially.
“The love I have for the team made me pursue the matter again. I called him, and he requested that I provide the agenda of the meeting, which I did,” he added.
He further revealed that he received a voice note from Dlamini on Monday evening, informing him that he was yet to engage his team regarding the request by the NSC.
The red and white capital city giants’ PRO could not be reached for comment by the time this report was compiled.
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