OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 3.45pm.
SWAZILAND may soon be without its best soccer players after the national team accused the country of exploiting their talents by paying match fees of only R25 per international.
Players, headed by team vice captain Siza Dlamini, also complained they are paid only R5000 in appearance fees, while their South African counterparts earn in the region of R30000.
“It’s ridiculous. You can’t even buy a decent lunch with R25 and we end up looking like fools from some sort of Mickey Mouse country. We understand that Swaziland has economic problems but that doesn’t mean professionals should be paid peanuts,” said Dlamini.
Dlamini accused Swaziland soccer officials of either mismanaging or “hoarding” revenue generated from matches played in the kingdom, and said team members are beginning to believe that it is a waste of time and effort to play on the national team.
“We’ve tried to raise the subject with management, but you’re immediately branded a rebel for even mentioning money. It’s like opening a can of worms,” he said.
The latest row was sparked after players were paid less than their average R5000 appearance fee in the COSAFA semi-finals against Namibia last November.
Swaziland Football Association vice president and chairman of the country’s soccer marketing committee, Jabulani Nxumalo, confirmed that appearance fees were recently cut after private sector sponsors contributed significantly less than expected to the team’s coffers.
“We are aware of dissatisfaction about compensation but people have to remember that Swaziland is a very small country with a relatively small economy. We pay what we can afford to,” he said. — African Eye News