Over E500k for Sihlangu to Cape Verde

Sihlangu will be playing match three of the qualifiers, as they fight to add the points to the one point they already have.

MBABANE – Flying to Cape Verde is no child’s play, as on average a ticket can cost over E46 000 but there is hope that the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) can spend way less than this.

At least close to E500 000 for the Cape Verde trip later this month is what the EFA could end up spending, when at first glance the trip for the TotalEnergies Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 Qualifier match looks to be over E1m in air fares only. However, it has since transpired through internet research that the cheapest ticket to Cape Verde from Johannesburg, South Africa (SA) is E18 832, but then flights are also controlled by the time one travels. Sihlangu, perhaps a delegation of 30 people will fly later this month and the lowest ticket price will be E17 794 as the first leg of the back-to-back fixtures is scheduled for March 24 and then the second leg on March 28.

Cape Verde is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean, 570km off the western coast of Senegal.

Sihlangu will be playing match three of the qualifiers as they fight to add the points to the one point they already have. In the group that also has Togo and Burkina Faso. The cheapest ticket at E17 704 would see the EFA save hundreds of thousands and spend around E533 820 for a delegation of 30 people.

Ticket

It is worth mentioning however, at the E46 047 per ticket, the EFA would have to part with E1 381 410. The EFA still have to find an alternative venue to host Cape Verde for the second leg, as Somhlolo National Stadium remains banned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

This game will be played under minimum budget for EFA, as the national team allocation by government did not improve from the E5 million that it got last year as evidenced in the 2023 Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini Estimates Book released last week Friday after the National budget speech was delivered in Parliament.

EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe said the executive was currently searching for the venue in SA, but could not get into details as he said it was still early. The Mbombela Stadium and FNB Stadium have both been utilised before by the EFA.