INGWE TRIP TO ALGERIA TOMORROW

MBABANE – Eswatini TOTALEnergies CAF Confederation envoys Royal Leopard leave tomorrow to honour the second leg game against Algerian side JS Kabylie.

Ingwe Mabalabala Public Relations Officer (PRO) Frank Hurube confirmed that the team would embark on the over 7 603km trip from Eswatini to Algeria for the second leg of the TOTALEnergies CAF Confederation tomorrow, but were yet to finalise a better route. “Yes, we are leaving on Thursday, I am from Eswatini Football Association (EFA) offices to discuss the travelling logistics as we have two routes to choose from,” Hurube said. He said the first route was the one that went via Turkey and the other one went via Doha. Hurube said he would be in a better position to say which route they would use after their discussions with the mother body of local football, since there was money involved.

He also revealed the team would consist of 27 members, which included 17 players; the delegation would be headed by Nichodimus ‘Ace’ Mashwama. Hurube further said the team was expected back home on Tuesday or Thursday, depending on the route they wouldly finally use. The second leg fixture between the two sides has been postponed three times and the latest was on January 27, 2022.

Stranded

The local side was reported stranded in Egypt and could not make the trip to the Arab speaking nation last week due to a heavy storm that was reported to be taking place in Turkey, where they were to connect a flight to their destination. The Edwin Matsebula-led side after failing to connect a flight to Algeria was forced to return home. JS Kabylie went to the pre-match conference as per the rules of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The Algerians also went to the stadium on the match day only to find that Royal Leopard did not pitch for the game. This forced the referee of the day to call off the game. The matter was directed to CAF Competitions Committee, which rescheduled the game to February 6, 2022.

The local side goes to this fixture enjoying a slender lead of 1-0 courtesy Thabiso Mokenkoane’s goal in a game that was played at Mavuso Sports Centre, late last year. The winner between Royal Leopard and JS Kabylie will join the other three teams that have already qualified for the group stages, in Group B. This includes South Africa’s Orlando Pirates, JS Saoura and Al Ittihad. The 2021/22 CAF Confederation Cup group stage will be played from February 13 to April 3, 2022.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: