SWALLOWS TO CLOCK OVER 30 000KM IN AFRICAN SAFARI

Sports Editor
In Paris, France en-route to Tunisia
Courtesy of Heptagon Construction Company

PARIS – The quest to leave a footprint or even conquer the continent will come at a huge cost for Mbabane Swallows who have to clock more than 30 000 kilometres collectively travelling between this week’s trip and July.

If the tiresome trip to Congo-Brazzaville last month included a 600 kilometre journey aboard a rickety jalopy posing as a bus was a torture, twice making the trip to North Africa will prove a whole new experience for Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati’s brave battalions who qualified for the group stages for the first time after booting out three teams, Botswana’s Orapa United, Tanzania’s Azam and much fancied 2012 Confederations cup champions, AC Leopard.

Lack of direct flights to both Tunisia to face top side CS Sfaxien and Algeria’s MC Alger will be taxing as the local side has to go via other countries – they were due to go via Dubai instead of Turkey as earlier announced – and also means spending hours in transit in-between the big Mbabane derby against sworn rivals, Mbabane Highlanders in the MTN league 2016/17 season day of crowning.
The red and white glamour side’s trip to Tunisia, set to go via Dubai, will see them travel more than 20 000 to and from.

It will be followed up by hosting South Africa’s Platinum Stars at home on Tuesday, 23 May and Alger’s Mouloudia Club D’ Alger on the weekend of June 2-4.

The ‘Birds’ will then fly 14 920 kilometres to Algeria to face the Algerians at the Stade 5 Juilet 1962 on Tuesday, June 20 before hosting Tunisian top side, CS Sfaxien at home on the weekend of 30 June – July 2.

The Capital City giants will end their group stage participation by taking a shorter trip of 734 kilometre to Rustenburg to face South Africa’s Platinum Stars at the Royal Bafokeng on the weekend of July 7-9.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: