Dombo ready to represent Eswatini
MBABANE – not?” “Yes, why
This was the response of Denver Sundowns flying winger Mike Dombo after this publication posed a question to him if he would be ready to show up should there be a chance to play for the national team Sihlangu, should Head Coach Dominic Kunene call him up for national duty. The former Manzini Wanderers player, who is from Cameroon arrived in the country in 2016 and played for the maroon and white hub giants before crossing the rubicon to Sundowns about two seasons ago.
Dombo revealed that he now holds the Eswatini personal identity card (ID), which makes him eligible to play for Eswatini as per the FIFA Eligibility Rules. It is Article 5.1 which states: “Any person holding a permanent nationality that is not dependent on residence in a certain country is eligible to play for the representative teams of the association of that country. According to information sourced from FIFA. com, in late 2020, FIFA announced at its 70th annual congress that the eligibility rules had been updated, in what administrators described as ‘first wholesale moderation’ of the rules with added codification and
Under the rules, in order for a player to switch nationalities, a player must not have played in a competitive fixture (that is, can only have played in friendlies for the first country), and FIFA approval is necessary.
clarification.
The winger, who is fresh from attending trials in Malta, Europe is now on his seventh year in the country and qualifies for Eswatini citizenship, which could enhance his chances of playing for Sihlangu. He said if the opportunity was availed to him to play for the national team, he would gladly accept the offer.
Decision
“Why not, I can play for Eswatini, but I have to think about it because I can’t take that decision alone,” the speedy winger said. It is worth mentioning that FIFA instituted a comprehensive revamp of the eligibility sytem in January 2021, giving a player, who might otherwise have been tied to a nationality through junior representation or even full national team caps the ability to switch to another nation.
In 2010, former Mbabane Swallows, Zimbabwean midfield maestro Stanford Ncube once highlighted his desire to play for Sihlangu after he received his Eswatini citizenship as he said he was in love with emaSwati.