LOBAMBA – Government, through the Sport Council has allocated a combined sum of E1.04 million to send two national teams to different destinations in the Southern Africa region.
The increased expenditure follows the implementation of a new policy restricting long-distance road and night travel for national teams.
The Minister for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima, officially sent off the teams during a farewell ceremony held at the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) offices in Lobamba yesterday.
The delegation included a 15-member Men’s National Netball Team, scheduled to leave tomorrow for the Africa Netball Cup in Malawi. The other team is a 17-member delegation for the Association of National Olympic Committees for Africa (ANOCA) Youth Games in Angola.
It will be a staggered departure for the latter, with four of the sporting codes flying out of the country as of Monday. Swimming will leave first, followed by athletics, taekwondo and boxing squad later on.
However, a major financial boost for the teams comes from the Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council (ESRC). Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darius Dlomo thanked government for the financial support and noted that the era of long-road trips to regional destinations has ended.
Dlomo revealed that under the previous regulations, the netball team would have been enduring a long and traumatic road trip to Malawi via Mozambique, but would be now leaving two days before the tournament. He said the new policy restricts road travel only to South Africa (SA), Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique.
Beyond these four nations, national teams or any club must fly for the convenience, safety and high-level performance of the athletes.
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