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MOMO PLAY-OFFS DEFERRED!

06/10/2022 08:25:00 Sanele Jele

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EZULWINI – After King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium inspection, the eagerly-awaited MoMo Cup play-offs have been postponed.

The festivities were to be headlined by an epic clash featuring two of the country’s ‘big guns’ in Mbabane Highlanders and Manzini Wanderers. Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) Chief executive Officer (CEO) Kenneth Makhanya yesterday announced the postponement during a press conference which was held at Mahlalekhukhwini House in Ezulwini. The postponement of the play-off games came at the eleventh hour, after the PLE felt the iconic Nhlangano venue did not meet some of their standards. The play-offs were slated for Saturday. Unlike Somhlolo National Stadium and Mavuso Sports Centre, there are no proper stands at the venue.

The makeshift stands were removed and it would be difficult for supporters to sit down and enjoy the game. The opening game, which was set to kick off at 9am, was the match-up between Highlanders and Wanderers, while the second game was to feature Denver Sundowns against Manzini Sea Birds. The final would have been played on the very same day. The winner of the decider would then get a ticket to join seeded sides Moneni Pirates, Rangers and Nsingizini Hotspurs in the main tournament later this month. “The MoMo Cup Management Committee has inspected the King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium and identified security and safety concerns precluding it from hosting ‘Category A’ games in its current condition,” said Makhanya.

Category ‘A’ games, according to the PLE rules, are those with a history of full stadium attendance which is deemed high-risk. He said in light of the current situation the management committee of the MoMo Cup resolved to postpone the play-offs of the MoMo Cup to Saturday, October 22, 2022. “The play-offs will be staged at the Mavuso Stadium to ensure a safe and secure venue. The Management Committee has confirmed the availability of Mavuso Stadium,” he said. When asked what would happen to week three MTN Premier League fixtures, he said they were deferred. “The organisers of the play-offs have requested the PLE to reschedule the week three PLE fixtures set down for 22 October 2022, in light of this postponement,” he said. He also reminded football supporters that voting for the finals fixtures would open at midnight, yesterday. The voting is for the top three seeded teams to vote for the team which they wish to play in the semifinals. Supporters of the top three teams or any staunch football supporter would have to vote if they wanted to play one of the winners from the play-offs or be pitted against each other.

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The top three teams according to their highest number of votes they got are; Moneni Pirates who amassed 28 161 votes. They were followed by Rangers who accumulated 26 051 votes. Nsingizini Hot Spurs were third with 24 256. The winner of the tournament will take home E600 000. Denver Sundowns CEO Elvis Dube said the postponement was a welcomed change. “We want to thank the organisers for finding a new venue for the play-offs. In Nhlangano we would have a number of challenges and one of them is accommodation. There was scarcity of accommodation in Nhlangano, so it was a blessing in disguise for us,” said Dube. Meanwhile, Mbabane Highlanders PRO Mandla Madonsela said the new dates would give their fans time to buy tickets. “Our supporters still have a challenge buying the tickets via the Mobile Money (MoMo) market place. What about those who do not have smart phones. We do hope MTN will come with a solution in as far as ensuring the tickets are readily available” he said. However, MTN FinTech Eswatini Manager Products and Services MXolisi Dlamini encouraged fans to buy tickets via MoMo. He said the objective of the tournament was to promote people to use moMo services.