TRIO NOMINATED FOR RASA

MBABANE – A big stage awaits three local sports personalities, as the African Sports Council Union (AUSC) Region V Awards nominees have been revealed.

The Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2024 in Lusaka, Zambia. The category nominees for the grand event were revealed yesterday, with the number of locals increasing from two to three this year, compared to the previous year. Last year, only Sihlelelwe Matsebula and Hayley Hoy were nominated for the outstanding junior sportsman and sportswoman, respectively. In the event that Eswatini hosted the event, Matsebula was the big winner while Hoy attained the runner-up spot.

However, the 2023 Eswatini Sports Star and Outstanding Junior Sportsman of the Year, Luca Fraser, has made it to the final list. He will be contesting in a  tricky category though as he will be vying for the Sportsperson of the Year against other two regional heavyweights. The 13-year-old faces Botswana’s 21-year-old sprinter Letsile Tebogo as well as Mozambique’s top female boxer, Rand Gramane, who is aged 28.

Outstanding

Meanwhile, swimmer Hoy will also be vying for glory after she was the runner-up last year. The reigning local outstanding junior sportswoman of the year has made it to the last three, together with Malawi’s footballer Victoria Mkwala and Obakeng Kambaruka from Athletics Botswana. To complete the list, Eswatini Television Sports Journalist Fabrice Musonera was also nominated for the Sports Journalist of the Year award. He was nominated alongside Zambia’s Virginia Chilongo and Mphatso Malidadi. Notable is that in the previous edition, winners walked away with E20 000, while runners-up received E5 000 consolation prize.

Meanwhile, efforts to obtain a comment from the Eswatini Sports and Recreation Council were unsuccessful, as the phone of Senior Marketing and Media Officer Dumisane Ntiwane rang unanswered. He was contacted to confirm the list of nominees.  Eswatini Swimming Association Secretary General (SG), Nozipho Mahlalela, could also not be reached for comment.

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