Sihlangu makes us dream again
THIS Sunday morning, somewhere in the Shiselweni Region, the bowels of the earth opened up to swallow one of the most charismatic sports administrators of our time.
Former Chairman of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) athletics team and one time police spokesman, Vusi Masuku, has left a void that will be hard to fill.
Once again, we at the ESRC, from the Board chaired by Celcolo Dino Dlamini, to the management and staff, take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to the entire nation on the loss of such a dynamic figure, who has been tragically taken away from us. We pray to the Almighty to bandage those bleeding hearts at such a time.
May Masuku’s soul repose peacefully. Be that as it may, Masuku would have cherished Sihlangu’ s result against the continent’s heavyweights, Togo.
Clearly underdogs ahead of the AFCON Qualifier clash, which was played away from home, Sihlangu pulled a rabbit out of a hat literally to upset the applecart.
Surely, nobody gave our team even the slightest of chances against a much more fancied Togo side, which boasts of a number of highly rated international stars.
Yet, history, which has the tendency of repeating itself should have sounded warning bells to the rest of the continent. It almost repeated itself in spectacular fashion on Friday night, as Sihlangu fought gallantly to earn a precious point away from home. The 2-2 draw should give all of us hope that even though the odds seem to be staked against the local boys, Sihlangu can do it.
It is an undisputed fact that the squad has never qualified for the continent’s biggest showpiece yet, which is the AFCON. This seems to be the motivating factor, pushing Dominic Kunene’s charges.
It’s still early days we know, especially with tougher games on the horizon. Just on Tuesday, in South Africa, the squad will be up against group favourites, Burkina Faso. This is supposed to be a home game, although it will be played away from home. However, considering Friday’s performance against the Togolese, we should not fear.
The squad has made the nation dream again and we love it. We are fully behind the team and the nation would have done well to pray for our boys, as they attempt to rewrite the history pages.
It’s on and it’s happening!
All roads lead to the Mhlambanyatsi Inkhundla this coming Saturday for yet another thrilling rendition of our mass participation programme, Shukuma Eswatini.
Expect nothing but a festival. That is how much this programme has revolved in recent times. Expect more corporate partners, more social partners, more sports associations and just about more of everything.
We start our day as early as 7am to accommodate the many activities on offer. Now that road races are back, who knows, we might just decide to relaunch our 5km walk/run? Of course, aerobics always set the tone for what is to come, as the first item on the agenda. We are always accompanied by top instructors, to make it easy on everyone, especially first timers. Once, the sporting part has wrapped up, cultural activities then take over for even more fun. Shukuma has taught us first hand and helped us to see how seamlessly sports blend with culture.
Mhlambanyatsi folk and of course people from surrounding areas should not dare miss this great opportunity. It’s for them. We can promise them a day never seen before. It’s what we do.
I will talk to you again next week, God willing of course. Until then, Sport for all; Sports for life!