MBABANE: Manzini Wanderers are celebrating sweet victory Today. The High Court has issued an order compelling the Eswatini Football Association to fixture Wanderers in the MTN Premier League with immediate effect.
Last night High Court judge, Justice Mumcy Dlamin released the judgement reserved since Friday when she heard the case. “The applicant’s application for leave to executive is hereby granted in the following terms:
That the 1st (Premier League of Eswatini) and 4th respondent (Eswatini Football Association) are hereby ordered to comply with orders of 27th September 2024 with the view that in doing so, the 3rd respondent (Moneni Pirates) is not adversely affected and the applicant is fixtured in the present preier league and take any other steps necessary to normalize the situation.
The judgement opens a new chapter for the Weslians and ends months of traumatizing uncertainty.
The highly anticipated good news of the Wanderers victory were already circulating in Manzini in the very early hours of Sunday.
The Wanderers’ camp erupted in jubilation at good tidings that brought great relief: “We have been in training and are ready to play at any point the Premier League fixtures us,” declared Wanderers Director, Wellington Motsa. “All our players are here ready to play at any time”, he said.
How soon Wanderers will play depends on the EFA. “We have not yet received the court order. As soon as our lawyers deliver it to the PLE office, which we expect to be tomorrow, we will forward it to the EFA for their guidance,” said PLE acting CEO Petros Vilakati.
The Wanderers victory is equally sweet for Moneni Pirates.
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By adding Wanderers and retaining Pirates, the judgement automatically reconfigures the 14 team MTN League and expands it 15 teams. This relieves the EFA from the headache of what to do with Moneni Pirates who would otherwise have fallen into the same limbo that Wanderers have just emerged from. It would have been too late to withdraw them from the Premier League where they have already played 4 games; and too late to return them to the ongoing MTN Second Division which is also now too far gone.
The court judgement neatly solves an even more troublesome problem for the sport. By retaining Pirates in the MTN Premier League, it removes the need for an Apeal Court Case that Pirates were already eyeing. That options would have thrown a mighty bobojan wrench into the sport.
Jm/today/20.10.2024
