By Mbongeni Vilakati
MBABANE – The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu has announced strict provisions for the Tinkhundla National Talent Search Competition in the sporting sector.
This announcement was made during the official launch of the Competition, held at the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs conference room today (Friday, July 12, 2024).
Speaking during the launch, the EFA CEO announced that the football component will be an under 20 tournaments, with an allowance of up to a maximum of three over aged players, under the age of 23 years per team. “In terms of the playing category, it will be a under 20 player aged category, with a provision of up to a maximum of three over aged players, however under the age of 23.” Mngomezulu said.
He also added that players in the elite leagues will not be eligible to participate in the competition. “Another important highlight that I’d like to disclose is that Premier League and National First Division players will not participate. It will only be players doing duty in the regional leagues, which will truly substantiate that it is a national talent search,” he said.
Furthermore, the Eswatini Football governing body’s CEO, also highlighted that each constituency team would be led by a qualified coach, with maximum of 25 people (five officials and 20 players). The number of participating individuals in the competition will equal to 180 players from the start of the competition.
He also mentioned that a draw will be conducted to determine the fixtures, from regional phase up to the national finals. The competition will have six competition dates. This means that the competition be played in a period of six weeks, five of which will be in the regions and the final one will be nationals finals that will be played at the Somhlolo National Stadium to determine the winner.
