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MBABANE – Assessing the 27-man squad made available to Sihlangu’s National Team Coach Domenic Kunene against Mozambique’s Black Bulls was halted by Tropical Storm Filipo.
The scheduled game for yesterday at 9:30am was cancelled after monitoring the weather conditions for over an hour following the scheduled kick-off time. The heavy rainfall and strong winds, driven by Tropical Storm Filipo, rendered the playing venue unplayable, leading to the fixture’s cancellation.
This was during Sihlangu’s preparations for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round qualifiers against Somalia on March 20 in Morocco. Additionally, it is worth noting that the national team’s fullback, Kwakhe Thwala, drew interest from the Black Bulls, although no transfer materialised.
Furthermore, the current second-place holders of the MTN Premier League of Eswatini (PLE), Royal Leopard, previously played a 1-1 draw with Black Bulls in a previous friendly encounter, which was two years ago, where the police side were preparing for the Confederations of African Football (CAF) Champions League.
Moreover, the Black Bulls are situated in the heart of Mozambique, specifically in Maputo, one of the areas directly affected by the storm as it was forecasted by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) to exit past the Indian Ocean through Xai-Xai.
Regarding the players’ safety and the possibility of arranging another friendly match and venue, Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi ‘Rhoo’ Rabede mentioned that he was unable to provide the latest updates as he was out of the office.
He suggested that the appropriate person to contact at that time would be the national team’s coach, as he was not privy to the team’s current status.
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