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LEOPARD CHOOSE CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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MBABANE – The saying goes; ‘A Leopard never changes its spots’, but the same cannot be said of Royal Leopard.
The MTN Premier League defending champions are said to have changed their mind on taking up the available Orange CAF Champions League spot.


This is after having initially announced that they would opt for the Orange CAF Confederations Cup rather than face the stiff competition awaiting them in the bigger tournament. Leopard, by virtue of being league champions last season, have first preference when it comes to the Champions League spot.
The same applies to the Confederations Cup as the police side won the 2014 SwaziBank Cup to gain qualification and be left to choose which continental tournament they would go for.


They then decided to participate in the Confederations Cup, explaining that it would present them with better chances of winning to progress to the second round. This decision was communicated by National Commissioner of the Royal Swaziland Police Service, Isaac Magagula, who is also the club’s President during an awards ceremony they hosted at the House on Fire in July. This seemed to open a chance for 2013/14 league runners-up, Mbabane Swallows, to once again take to Africa following their first round exit in 2013, however, that seemingly has changed as the team is considering playing with the ‘big boys’, especially after boosting their squad ahead of the start of the current season.


While the team’s PRO, Frank Hurube, was evasive when queried on this development, Manager Mxolisi Dlamini confirmed.  “That we would be participating in the CAF Confederations Cup was stated by the National Commissioner during the awards ceremony, with certain reasons, but we have not yet made a final decision on which of the two competitions we will be entering for,” he explained.


Worth noting is that Leopard has not made a formal indication to the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) of its intentions to compete in any of the two tournaments. However, Dlamini said they were waiting for advice from the NFAS with regards to this issue before they register for any of the two.


The deadline is around the end of November.
And even though Young Buffaloes, who were runners-up to Leopard in the SwaziBank Cup would be presented with a chance to participate in the Confederations Cup if Leopard move for the Champions League, their PRO Sandile Gwebu said they were not considering such a prospect.
“For now we only know that we do not have a gateway to register for any of the two tournaments, and that is the only comment I have for you,” he said briefly. 

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