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MBABANE – The future of boxing in Africa is in Eswatini’s Pearl Dlamini’s hands and all in three months.
Soon after her historic election into the International Boxing Association (IBA) independent Board of Directors (BoD) on Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey; the IBA President, Umar Kremlev, who said that this was the ‘Year of Africa’, tasked Dlamini to have come up with that masterstroke proposal for taking boxing to another level in Africa.
The former Eswatini Boxing Association (EBA) President and New Boys Boxing Club Director, as well Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) Board member, is one of the 10 elected Board of Directors for the IBA. She is the only African, as she continues to make history in her sporting career that dates back to 1996, when she became her late father Felix Muir’s New Boys Boxing Club secretary. The team had been formed in 1992.
MEnormous
Responding to a questionnaire sent to her by this publication on Tuesday evening, Dlamini revealed that her first task was an enormous but exciting one for the African continent and Eswatini at large. Her task is to put together a programme on the things that ought to be done to support and develop the scope of Africa boxing this year.
“I need to develop and table a proposal in the next Quarterly Board
BABANE – At 41, Wonder ‘Samba Jive’ Nhleko is still winning silverware.
This follows his latest achievement, where he was announced as the MTN Premier League Player of Month for April. The Mbabane Swallows veteran winger was announced alongside MTN National First Division League joint leading top scorer, Sandile Dlamini, who plays for log leaders Seven Dreams. The latter has scored 12 goals while ‘Samba Jive’ has netted five goals since he dusted his soccerboots from retirement at the start of the second round and second transfer window.
The interesting story about the former South Africa’s Black Leopards player, who is the oldest in the local league, is that last season, he was declared to have retired, but with Swallows struggling for results, he was recalled by coaches Siyabonga Bhembe and Musa Manyatsi. He had been given the role of Head of Development but then head coach,
Meeting (QBM). But for me to do that, I will need to first conduct an extensive assessment of the state of boxing across all of Africa.
“This will help us to understand the different needs and areas where attention can be given in each country in Africa. Help will then be segmented according to the priority areas, and those in need of major support like Eswatini will be in the
Ghanaian Christopher Ennin returned two months ago and was given same post. However, Ennin was not happy priority list. I have three months to deliver on my first assignment,” she responded when questioned what her first task was as IBA BoD.
The ‘Queen of Africa Boxing’, as they affectionately call her throughout Africa and beyond, assured her dedication to fighting and protecting her continent’s interest in the sport.
This includes women empowerment in administration and athleticism as with the role. Reports doing the rounds are that he has since left Swallows to return home in Ghana. Impeccable