THRILLING WEEKEND AHEAD FOR SOCCER FANS AS: SA STARS FOR ESWATINI

2023-05-25 - BY MENGAMELI MABUZA BY MENGAMELI MABUZA AND LINDOKUHLE MADLOPHA Played yesterday Playing today 1-1 1-1 2-1 2-0 vs vs vs

MBABANE - Eswatini football lovers will be in for a treat this coming weekend when they watch renowned stars from South Africa (SA) taking on MTN Premier League players.

The match, which will take place on Saturday at 11am at the Prince of Wales Sports Ground, has been organised by FIFA-accredited Agent Njabulo Thobela, who stays in Johannesburg.

Thobela’s team is called Urban Warriors while the team compromising of players playing in the local league is styled Uche XI.

The local side will include, among other players, exciting Green Mamba winger Njabulo ‘Mazza’ Tfwala, who will be one of the players representing the country in the international friendly match.

Confirming the game was Thobela, the Chairman of the legends’ match who would be travelling to the county later today. He assured that all the players in the circulating list were going to be there for the match, which he said it was important in building a relationship between the two countries.

“We have an international friendly match at Eswatini against some of

MB A B A N E – There are a few changes in the national team, Sihlangu, to face Togo next month for the TotalEnergies 2023 AFCON Qualifiers.

The changes from the team that played in the last backto-back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers against Cape Verde include new faces in Green Mamba’s box-to-box midfielder Mxolisi ‘Kudus’ Mkhonto and Njabulo ‘Magwegwe Magagula. Kunene’s troops only got a point and suffered defeat against Cape Verde. They further failed to score. The squad compromising 26 players was released by the Head Coach, Dominic Kunene, with Eswatini Football Association’s (EFA) Communications and Marketing Officer Muzi Radebe yesterday at Sigwaca House.

Leaked

the MTN Premier League players on Saturday. We have arranged the game and there will be many players from South Africa who will be coming to play the friendly game.

It turned out to be the same leaked squad exclusively published by this publication yesterday.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Brighton & Hove

SPANISH LALIGA

Elche

Real Madrid Villarreal

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Man Utd

SPANISH LALIGA

Mallorca Osasuna

In the presence of media houses, the released squad excluded the likes of on-form Mbabane Swallows free-scoring attacking midfielder Felix Badenhorst, Eswatini international player in Justice Figuareido, who plays for South Africa’s second-tier side All Stars and Mbabane Highlanders shot-stopper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala, who has had a stellar campaign after conceding the least number of goals in the recently-ended MTN Premier League.Expected

The other player plying his trade outside the country’s borders in Lindo Mkhonto, who plays for Zesco United in Zambia is expected to join the rest of the squad during the FIFA International break.

The Sihlangu gaffer, who has his contract coming to an end in October after the next two qualifying AFCON fixtures against Togo and Burkina Faso encouraged Badenhorst to keep working hard, score more goals at team level and he will be called up for the national team as there were other tournaments.

“I have had a discussion

Man. City

Sevilla R. Vallecano Cádiz

Chelsea

Valencia Athletic Club with Felix not to make us enemies with the media and I told him to score goals against the teams competing in the recently-ended MTN Premier league. In the second round, we have noticed that he has not been scoring goals like we saw in the first round and we ask that he continues to score the goals so that can get the assurance that he can also bang the goals in the national team.

“He is a good player who I have worked with before and there is no beef between us,” the coach said.

The former Young Buffaloes coach mentioned that there would be changes with his squad in the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) to be staged in the South African coastal city of Durban from July 5-16.

Changes

7:30pm 7:30pm 7:30pm 9pm

7:30pm 9:30pm

“There will be changes because there are also injuries. There are things we pick from the players. These include having players who are ready physically, technically, tactically and mentaly .If some are lacking in the four things we then have to ask players to help the team improve, ” he added.

He highlighted that a player like Figuareido was still part of his plans together with the rest of the other omitted players. “Players like Khanyakwezwe are still part of my plans and a player like Muzi Tsabedze, who plays for Sea Birds not being called up was a personal decision on the player’s side ,” the coach said.

The team will have combine players who have played in the DStv Premiership and those who are still playing.

Players like former Kaizer Chiefs’ legend George Lebese will be there including new Orlando Pirates signing Linda Buthelezi,” he said.

Thobela went on to reveal that the manager of the team was former Mamelodi Sundowns player Papi Zothwane.

“There are players who have arrived in Eswatini already including Justice Figuareido who will be playing in the match.

“We would also use the match to assess some of the players who will be playing.

Example

“Papi, for example, is a coach for Uthongathi and I’m an agent and we hope to see many supporters coming in numbers to watch the game, which promises to be exciting. Entrance to the match will be free,” he added.

‘The Indolombela Boys’, as they are nicknamed, will also parade players like Eswatini legend Denis ‘Yuki’ Masina; erstwhile Orlando Pirates player Reason Chiloane; Nhlanhla Khumalo, who used to play for Amazulu; and ex-Platinum Stars midfielder Solomon Mathe, among others.

Meanwhile, Inyoka Eluhlazane player Njabulo ‘Mazza’ Tfwala, who is in the organising committee of the local side could not be drawn for comment after his cellphone rang unanswered when called for the better part of the day yesterday.