(At UNESWA Sports Emporium)
MATSAPHA – A prolonged administrative deadlock at the summit of Eswatini football has triggered a quiet exodus of the country’s brightest football minds.
This is after local coaches are now forced to look to neighbouring countries to acquire mandatory continental qualifications.
Investigations by this publication reveal that a crippling freeze on local Confederation of African Football (CAF) training courses is now entering its eighth consecutive year, which stems directly from the Eswatini Football Association’s (EFA) failure to fill a critical internal position. The post of Technical Education Officer has remained entirely vacant for three years, despite being formally advertised back in 2023.
Without a dedicated education officer to design, sanction and oversee professional development, Eswatini’s coaching pathway has completely ground to a halt. The domestic stagnation has left aspiring elite coaches with no choice, but to self-fund expensive cross-border trips to save their careers.
Just 72 hours ago, Green Mamba Assistant Coach Sandile Lulane became the latest local casualty of this domestic freeze. Documents from the Namibia Football Association (NFA) confirm that the former Moneni Pirates physical trainer has been forced to travel to Windhoek.
Lulane is among 30 regional participants enrolled in Namibia’s intensive CAF B Licence Course, which officially kicked off yesterday. The gruelling programme is split into four strict blocks stretching through October 2026. Lulane’s abrupt departure follows closely on the heels of Bongiswa Dlamini, another highly-rated local coach who was forced to flee to Zimbabwe last month to pursue the same qualification.
The desperation driving coaches across regional borders is fuelled by strict continental regulations. The CAF B Licence is no longer an optional accolade; it is a mandatory, non-negotiable requirement for any coach wishing to sit on the technical bench during high-stakes continental club competitions, such as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. Furthermore, it is the absolute prerequisite to climb to the elite CAF A Licence required for national team head coaches.
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EFA Chief Executive Officer Frederick Mngomezulu. (Pic: Ntombikayise Gwebu)