SOCCER – MBABANE Black Eagles players have opened bank accounts with different financial institutions to facilitate the payment of their salaries and ensure that the club complies with the country’s financial laws and regulations.
The club’s Managing Director Chief Ally Kgomongwe said the team had always encouraged its players to open bank accounts as part of efforts to promote transparency and responsible financial management.
“This is one way of avoiding money laundering because we want to be seen as a team that complies with the country’s laws,” Kgomongwe said.
He explained that the initiative was also aimed at ensuring that players received their salaries through proper banking channels while adhering to the rules and regulations governing financial transactions.
“I am happy that all the players in the team agreed to open bank accounts, even though some already had accounts. This is one way of improving how players are supposed to be getting paid,” he said.
Kgomongwe emphasised that footballers should not be treated differently from employees in other sectors, insisting that they deserved the same respect and professional treatment.
“They should be treated as such, and their salaries must be paid through the bank and not under the trees,” he said.
The former Mbabane Highlanders boss also criticised the practice of paying players in cash, describing it as an unacceptable way of handling their earnings.
He further maintained that players deserved respect and should not have their salaries reduced simply because the team failed to win matches.
“I will not be reducing my players’ salaries because we are aware of the fact that they cannot win all the time. This is football,” he said.
On the team’s performance, Kgomongwe said he was pleased with the progress made despite a slow start to the season. He attributed some of the early struggles to the lack of a proper pre-season programme.
“We did not have a proper pre-season and were always going to struggle against teams that had a proper pre-season,” he said.
He encouraged the players to remain focused, work hard and approach every match with determination, adding that the club was not interested in settling scores but competing to the best of its ability. Meanwhile, Mbabane Black Eagles, popularly known as Amawele, have collected three wins from five matches in the MTN Premier League.
After losing their opening two fixtures, they bounced back with three consecutive victories to climb to sixth position on the league standings.
