Times Of Swaziland: ‘LITTLE’ MISTAKES WITH BIG CONSEQUENCES

‘LITTLE’ MISTAKES WITH BIG CONSEQUENCES
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Straight Talk with Ashmond Nzima on 07/06/2022 15:14:00


It was interesting to hear Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Peter
‘Samora’ Simelane being interviewed online by the Council of Southern
African Football Associations (COSAFA) this past week. He was put in the
spotlight alongside his colleagues from the region.
He spoke with enthusiasm, as he shared what the country was doing to develop the
sport. While he also discussed briefly on Sihlangu’s chances in the ongoing
2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers, the main area of interest was
football development. After all, that was something that had to be registered at
the back of his mind when he was elected the country’s football head honcho
345 days ago. During the interview on the COSAFA podcast, the president shared
some of the programmes in place to develop the game. One would argue that he
spoke mainly of juniors’ tournaments after doing a breakdown of some of
national and regional events that are randomly staged seasonally. Never mind
that these juniors’ tournaments are mainly played in southern Hhohho. Alone
they cannot constitute development.
develop
EFA knows what to do to develop football, so this is not the right time to teach
a fish how to swim. Juniors’ tournaments alone are not football
development–period.  It will be pointless to waste more ink on this issue, as
it has been discussed several times on many forums. This brings us to the
subject of the moment – Sihlangu’s journey to the AFCON finals to be played
in Ivory Coast in June next year. The nation is in celebratory mood, following
what has been dubbed a gallant display by Sihlangu in the comeback 2-all draw
with Togo. Getting a point on the road against a feared and star-studded side
that had won 6-0 in the last meeting gave the nation a reason to believe that
the time to qualify for Africa’s premier football tournament for the very
first time was now. Having scored in three of his last four international
outings, 30-year-old Sihlangu marksman, Sabelo Ndzinisa’s spearheaded the
Dominic Kunene’s troops’ comeback with another goal before a stunner deep
into stoppage time by grafter Siboniso ‘Gaxa’ Ngwenya.
While the result was encouraging and gave a glimmer hope to a nation craving to
see the country’s flagship team competing in the AFCON finals; we cannot
ignore the elephant in the room. This is none other the unavailability of
Eswatini internationals for the match due to ‘administrative’ reasons.
Eswatini currently boasts only two internationals in Angola-based Bonginkhosi
‘Manyovu’ Dlamini and Justice ‘Figa’ Figuareido. The latter is attached
to South Africa’s football second-tier side Cape Town All Stars who are
currently involved in Premier Soccer League (PSL) relegation/promotion
play-offs.
dropped
While ‘Manyovu’ reportedly arrived late in camp and got dropped; the issue
of Figuareido left much to be desired. There were disturbing reports coming from
All Stars suggesting that the player was not requested. At the end, he continued
to play and score for his team in the play-offs, while Sihlangu had a crucial
assignment in Togo. He is even doubtful for today’s clash to be played in
South Africa against Burkina Faso. Without the undermining the ability of the
local-based players; the inability to sort out the ‘Figa’ issue left one
with one major question. Do we have a communication challenge at Sihlangu?
Imagine if Eswatini had five or more internationals and they got left out of a
game because of a communication challenge. That is unacceptable-period.  Today
it can appear like a ‘little’ mistake but the consequences can be big.