‘SAMORA’S BIG DREAMS FOR SIHLANGU

MBABANE – Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane is dreaming big for the national team, Sihlangu.

He believes that the Dominic Kunene-led side can make history and qualify for the first time to play in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament to be held in Algeria between January 8 and 31, 2023. Sihlangu have never qualified for both the CHAN and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments. The CHAN tournament is a biennial African National Association Football tournament organised by CAF and the participating nations must consist of players playing in their national league competitions, without international players.Simelane said this when he bid farewell to the 20 players who left the country yesterday for Botswana, where they will play the first leg on Saturday at Francistown before the second leg billed for Orlando Stadium, South Africa on July 31.

Impressed

Simelane said he was impressed by the teams performance in the COSAFA Cup especially the match against Senegal, that ended with a draw in full time and Sihlangu lost after penalties. They went on to lose 2-0 to Botswana in the plate competition. “If we are able to match top teams like Senegal, what can stop us from reaching the main tournament and go to Algeria. I believe in this team, that they can make it and they will. It can be good to see the country represented in the tournament and playing top teams like Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt, among others. The performance we showed in COSAFA proves that we can match top nations,” he said. The winner between Sihlangu and Botswana will also have to go past the victorious side between Seychelles and Madagascar before making it to the main tournament.

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