DE JONGH SAFE FOR NOW – FA

MBABANE – Embattled Sihlangu coach, Pieter De Jongh, may be skating on thin ice, but he is guaranteed a full backing of the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) for now.

The future of the coach, who is under pressure following repeated calls for him to step down, was expected to be decided during the last day of the country’s football mother body’s executive committee three-day retreat at Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha yesterday. However, it was reliably gathered the NFAS shelved the issue pending a meeting with Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, who was held up to major national assignments for the better part of yesterday.

The minister is caught up in the mess following unanimous submissions of Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday, passing a vote of no confidence against the Dutch mentor.  This was during the debate of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs First Quarter (April- June) Performance report for the Financial Year 2017/18 by the portfolio committee, which was chaired by Nhlambeni MP Frans Dlamini. 
The NFAS had hoped to meet the minister yesterday before they could act on the issue.

As a result, no decision was taken on De Jongh’s future.
NFAS CEO, Frederick Mngomezulu, during yesterday’s Sports Show programme on national radio, had hinted Sihlangu issues would be up for discussion during the retreat, but said a way forward would be known after the gathering
“We can’t say much until after the meeting. It’s not just about the coach but reviewing the short-term national team activities.
“The coach is still in charge. His one-year contract expires at the end of March next year,” said Mngomezulu.

Meanwhile, the NFAS, through President, Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa, had briefed the media during a retreat at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday. However, he stressed that the retreat was mainly meant to orient the new executive committee members on corporate governance as well as to introduce them to the minister.
“The national team issue is topical. As a committee we’re aware of the reports and we’ll cover the issue in our programme. We’ll discuss and update the media on the way forward,” said the president.
De Jongh took over from Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, who steered the national side to a COSAFA Cup bronze medal on top of a historic 88th place FIFA rank, among other achievements. The former is yet to win an official match in four attempts.

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