By Karabo Ngoepe
‘Eswatini’s football is in a crisis’. This is the view of Nsingizini Hotspurs Chief Executive Officer Banele Ngobe.
Ngobe said the situation could be described as a patient who needs surgery to go back to enjoying life. Ngobe said football is a practical and result-driven sport and questioned why those in charge still occupy their positions when there are no results to show.
“This speaks to the leadership, coach, and technical director responsible for developing our football. In our situation, it’s an abnormal one, we have not produced results in over a decade, yet we have the same people in office.
“If it was a medical condition, I’d say we require surgery, to the point that we overhaul the whole system in terms of leadership. How do you stay in the office if things are not going right,” he said.
In an interview with the Eswatini Sunday this week, the Nsingizini Hotspurs boss indicated that those in charge have passed their sell-by date and the country needs young minds at the helm.
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“According to me, sooner than later, we must overhaul the whole leadership. We need young people who will understand that football is science and practical, it can’t be discussed in boardrooms only. It should be taken to the grassroots levels and to present those resources to harness talent,” he said.
Ngobe is of the view that the current leadership has run out of ideas to turn the tide. The country’s football fraternity met last week for a soccer indaba in a bid to resuscitate the nation’s pride. Numerous issues were discussed, including how the league – Eswatini Football Association is run and its politicisation.
The national team, Sihlangu, has been failing to qualify for major tournaments. Local teams also struggle to compete in continental competitions.
Ngobe added that the current set is not yielding the required results and urgent interventions are needed.
“The calibre of people we have there has no direction, and our football is in crisis. I think if we can have people who are brave enough to call out those in charge and say we need new leadership, things might change.
“We have been saying it just maybe not loud enough. Maybe because of the setup in terms of political elections and the laws/constitution they have put that for one to be in a senior position must serve for 10 years, which is old school,” he said.
Currently, the national coach is appointed by the leadership and then assumes a role within the structure while also being an employee, something which is seen as a hindrance in holding them accountable for lack of results.
“Even the coach is appointed by the same leadership. It’s not an issue of talent but leadership from the people responsible for football in the country,” he said.
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Ngobe’s sentiments were echoed by Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Executive member Charles Matsebula who called for national team coaches to recuse themselves from executive positions at the Eswatini Football Coaches Association.
Matsebula said such a situation compromises the integrity of the coaches.
“National team coaches should not hold positions within the Coaches Association. This causes coaches to be conflicted and it should be avoided at all costs.”
Matsebula also called for the appointment of an independent national team panel that will oversee operations in the senior national squads.
“We need to have an independent committee that will look after the national team and report to the Executive Committee. The formation of the Committee can also help to grind results for the national team,” he said.
Technical Committee member Nhlanhla ‘Madida’ Mabuza called for the permanent engagement of national team coaches.
“The national team should be full-time so that he can do other national team duties such as development competitions when the squad is inactive,” he said.
Mabuza’s assertions resonated with Ngobe. He said for the national team to turn the tide, it needs to go back to the drawing board and start investing in grassroots tournaments and attract sponsors who will invest in that.
However, for that to be a possibility, things need to change at the top.
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“I grew up at Mhlume and there used to be a tournament that used to target school-going children, and these attracted sponsorship. There are plenty of companies dealing with children’s products that can sponsor these school-going children.
“Because of a lack of leadership, no company can put money where there is no organization. Companies want accountability. Two critical things speak in football and they are the development of players and coaches. You need the appropriate talent and people to train and manage that talent,” he said.
Countries that have invested in their junior programmes are starting to reap the rewards of their work. Germany and Belgium are examples of what happens when football is taken seriously and investments are made from a young age.
The two countries have done well in competitions and managed to produce the likes of Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos, Marco Reus, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne to mention a few.
