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‘BIRDS’ NOMINATED FOR CAF ‘CLUB OF THE YEAR’ AWARD!

28/11/2017 04:41:00 BY LWAZI DLAMINI

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MBABANE – History-making Mbabane Swallows added another feather on their cap after being nominated for the prestigious AITEO Confederation of African Football (CAF) ‘Club of the Year’ award last night.

The red and white glamour side were last night nominated in the top five teams in Africa vying for the prestigious award, becoming the first Swazi team to be nominated in history. Swaziland affiliated to both CAF and FIFA in 1968, which is 49 years ago when the country also attained its independence.

Swallows face stiff competition in the category as they are up against the likes of Egypt’s Al Ahly, South Africa’s SuperSport United, who lost the CAF Confederation Cup losing finalists, winners of the CAF Confederation Cup DR Congo’s TP Mazembe and Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club.

Swallows, under the tutelage of coach Thabo ‘Koki’ Vilakati and bank-rolled by astute businessman, Victor ‘Maradona’ Gamedze, got the nomination after becoming the first Swazi team to reach the group stages of the CAF Confederations Cup in mid-year.
The nominations were released late last night on CAF website. The winners will be decided by votes from the members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee, CAF Media Experts Panel and Independent Media and TV consultants.

The winners, in the various categories, will be revealed during the Awards Gala dinner to take place on Thursday, January 4, 2018, in Accra, Ghana.
Swallows’ recuperating striker, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, however, failed to make it into the top 10 list of the CAF Player of the Year (based in Africa) category after being nominated in the top 30 list last month. South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Dennis Onyango and SuperSport United’s Jeremy Brockie made it into the top 10 list.