The Level of Football in Swaziland

By Ntokozo Nkambule

The Swaziland soccer national team is currently ranked 172 in the latest FIFA World rankings out of 202 nationally teams. It is worth noting that Swaziland has never qualified to participate in a world soccer competition.

The level of soccer in Swaziland is appalling and this leads to one actually asking   the question, do Swazi soccer players have the talent required to play at the highest level and compete with the best soccer players the world has on offer? In Swaziland unfortunately there are a few development structures that have been put in place and have not yielded any fruits.

Development should go beyond structures but there should be coaching clinics which are put in place to ensure that aspiring soccer children are taught football. Football should also be taught in classrooms as it has become a science as well. There is need for children to know that the game is transforming and there is no way you can break the barriers of modern football if you don’t aspire to get some appreciable level of education

One other important factor which is destroying football in Swaziland is the armed forces Premier League soccer teams. The best players in our local league are recruited by the armed forces soccer teams. This should not be a problem ideally because other countries such as Germany actually have two powerful teams in their football league which recruits most soccer players. The problem in Swaziland is that football is not yet professional and as such once the players are recruited by the army teams they just earn their salaries and vanish.

Football in Swaziland has to turn professional so that the other teams can compete with the armed forces teams. Swazi players are easily lured but the army teams as they are promised jobs. Any player will opt for armed forces as they offer job security because you are actually employed by the government. Players from the Premier League in Swaziland draw an average salary of E500.00. This is a meagre salary and a person cannot be expected to survive on such for a whole a month. Salaries of course differ depending on the value of a soccer player attached by a team. Some soccer players earn around E2000.00 which is considered to be hefty for a soccer player in Swaziland.

Once soccer players join the army teams they seem to lose the zest to play at their highest level. This may be because they feel they have achieved their goal because most soccer player’s dream in Swaziland is to play for armed forces and secure a job. They also lose the zest for performing at their ultimate because the army teams generally do not have a huge following in Swaziland. In actual fact most soccer followers do not cram stadiums when these teams play especially when playing against each other. Football in its very nature is about entertaining and thrilling crowds of people. No soccer player wants to play in an empty stadium or play for a team which has no following, but they are compelled because of circumstances.

These factors have to be taken into consideration if the level of football is to improve. But who will take the first step in Swaziland?

Media and football in Swaziland

By Ntokozo Nkambule

The media and football cannot be separated, they go hand in hand. For people to know about what is happening in the world of football or how their favourite teams are performing they rely on traditional media or even social sites which is the trend nowadays.

In order for companies to advertise on a television station or radio station these stations have to have a large following. 

They will advertise where they know most people are watching, listening or even reading which are newspapers are in this case. Soccer in its very nature is a vibrant sport but nonetheless a lot of people like it. All over the world there are large followings of soccer and companies usually cash in on that as they know that if they advertise during a game watched by hundreds of people they will reap the rewards in the form of advertising revenue.

Football in Swaziland is currently covered by the mainstream media in Swaziland which encompasses Swaziland Television Authority (STVA), Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services (SBIS) and the print media. A lot of people generally do not watch Swazi TV and particularly football on weekends on the television station. A majority of Swazis that love football actually watch football from abroad. This leads to a lack of adverts from companies because they are aware that few people are watching the television station.

In countries such as South Africa companies are fighting each other to sponsor soccer television shows because they are aware that they will make a lot of money from such ventures. This is however, not the case in Swaziland because companies would have to be begged to sponsor a soccer show. This impacts negatively on our football as there is little exposure for our local football. When more money is pumped in for football as companies will sponsor soccer teams and ensure that their brand is on the logo of the soccer jerseys, football in Swaziland would immensely benefit. Companies want their names out there and they have to be seen and football offers that because of its popularity.

A soccer event has a positive effect on sales because you can sell millions of the match balls. Fans usually buy the jersey of a team. Companies have increased exposure and will help deeper brand recognition and  improve shopper loyalty, thereby boosting profits in the long term. Competition for these events is intensifying as exposure in increases worldwide and companies are now falling over themselves.

In Swaziland most adverts during soccer games are on the radio which once again focuses on a particular audience and this audience is unlikely to benefit football. Standard Bank for instance does not advertise on radio during Swazi soccer games because they are aware that their audience is not listening to SBIS on a Saturday afternoon.

 It is imperative that the advertising industry improves in Swaziland. The advertising industry in Swaziland is dead; adverts on electronic media aren't interesting or persuasive enough, if anything they are more like announcements. One thing must be noted crucially is that football in Swaziland needs the media more than the media needs the football. The quality of football in Swaziland should improve so that people start watching it and when that happens companies are likely to start advertising on Swazi TV.

 The question still remains when will advertising and football come together in Swaziland?

Sports Ministry not doing enough for football in Swaziland

By Ntokozo Nkambule

In this year’s financial budget the Ministry of Sports  is one of the Ministries that received the least amount of money as they received less than E50 million. This money caters for all sports sectors in the country. The bulk of the money goes into football but that it is not sufficient to improve the level of football in Swaziland.

Sports in Swaziland are considered to be a past time, they are done just to while away time, and they are not professional. The Sports Ministry is not doing enough to revive the sports fraternity and soccer particularly. The Ministry should make a compelling case to government to look into the issue of soccer in Swaziland to ensure that they improve it. Football actually generates income and for a lot of countries but in Swaziland that is not the case and with the current status quo it actually looks like it will take a long time for that to happen.

The Ministry of Sports apart from looking at government for sponsorship they should also engage with companies and organizations for sponsorship. Currently, there are less than four organizations in Swaziland that are involved in sponsoring the Premier Soccer League. They compose of The Swazi Bank, Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications (SPTC) as well as the Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN). Does this mean that the other organizations in Swaziland would not assist the Premier League of Swaziland? Or they are just not convinced enough by the Ministry of Sports. All organizations are in competition and they want to outdo each other as such they should be scrambling with each other to Sponsor the Premier League but this not the case.

Development is undoubtedly the central point, if football is to improve in Swaziland. Football will not improve in Swaziland if there are still no development structures in place. The Ministry of Sports should ensure that development of football takes place at a tender age. Firdose Moonda in his blog, Football Africa states that every country is capable of producing the best players all it takes are development structures. There should be soccer academies which are established to ensure that the talent which is out there is not lost. There are a number of talented youngsters but most of them do not get the chance to showcase their talent at the highest level because the environment in Swaziland does not permit them.

Development requires money but more than anything it requires the Ministry of Sports to have a will in developing talent in Swaziland. There are a lot of aspiring people who would love to be involved in soccer in Swaziland such as coaching but they are not afforded the opportunity because they are aware that in Swaziland football does not pay. The Ministry should go all around Swaziland and galvanize all those interested in football and ensure that soccer is taken to the next level.

It looks like it is more than the lack of financial resources that is hindering the development of football but the will and vision from those put in this position. Those heading Sports in Swaziland are not aware of their task. They are not aware of the importance of football and sports. They clearly also lack the will to take sports to the next level like our neighbouring countries have done. It is disheartening that countries like Mozambique and Lesotho are making strides in their soccer development but Swaziland lags behind yet they are ranked economically lower than Swaziland.