Football Development Programmes

GOOD day dear reader and all the best for the eleventh month of the year. The previous month was one of the busiest periods for the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) with the implementation of the TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON Qualifiers, TotalEnergies U-23 AFCON Qualifiers, FIFA MA Refereeing Instructors Course and the Pick n Pay U-15 Kickoff Football Development Programme.

U23 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM

After playing to a barren draw on home turf, the U-23 Men’s National Team was brave enough to hold the bull by its horns on Sunday night at the Alexandria Stadium in Egypt.

This was during the TotalEnergies U-23 AFCON Qualifier match against Egypt where Eswatini unfortunately lost by 1-0. It was a good fight by the local national team as this was not an easy win for the Egyptians.

The technical bench and the players did well as this was not what the Egyptians expected from the national team.

The display by the players indicated that the country has a lot of talent of which the future is bright in as far as the national teams are concerned.

Again, it is very good to hear positive feedback from the public regarding the performance of the national team, which goes a long way in as far as boosting the confidence of the players which, will also make them to work even harder. Better luck next time as it is not the end of the world. The most important thing is to take the positives out of this situation and move on.

The future is still there for the technical bench and players as age is still on their side. With the domestic competitions taking place, the players still have a chance of convincing the senior national team technical bench of their readiness in earning full international caps.

PICK N PAY EFA U-15 KICK-OFF FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Last week Saturday marked the conclusion of the first edition of the three-year Pick n Pay U-15 Kick-off Football Development Programme.

On behalf of the EFA, let me take this opportunity to acknowledge the presence of the Honourable Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harris ‘Madze’ Bulunga during the national championship of this football development programme.

The presence of the honourable minister was a great motivation to the Eswatini child, who participated on the day.

Again, this football development programme demonstrated that Eswatini has the talent that can represent the country exceptionally.

Thank you very much Pick n Pay for investing in football development as the country now have U-15 national teams (for both boys and girls).

Indeed, football development was the ultimate winner.

CAF CONFEDERATION CUP

Royal Leopard FC is the only team that is currently representing the country in the CAF interclub competitions.

Having played to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday against AS De Bamako, the chances of proceeding to the group stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup are still there.

All the best to Royal Leopard FC as you prepare for the away match next Wednesday in Bamako.

MoMo CUP

The weekend we have been waiting for in as far as this new competition is concerned has arrived. Tomorrow we will witness the first champions of this new football competition in the Eswatini football calendar. May the best team be the champions and let football be the ultimate champion. Isukile i-MoMo Cup!

Till next week, football for all and safe life for all.

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