Football

MBABANE – In a stunning move, Nsingizini Hotspurs have lodged a formal complaint against their recent CAF Champions League rivals, Simba SC.

The reigning Eswatini MTN Premier League champions are specifically challenging the eligibility of the Tanzanian club’s Coach, Dimitar Pantev.

Nsingizini, who suffered a 0-3 aggregate defeat to the Tanzanian side to miss out on a group stage spot, are taking issue with the Bulgarian coach’s qualifications.

“We have established that Mr Pantev Dimitar Nikolaev (Head Coach) has no required qualification and has played a pivotal role in the two matches in question while we have addressed this with the opposition in the first leg,” reads the complaint, which was sent to Ahmed Salem, Competitions Manager at the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Under updated CAF regulations, head coaches and assistants participating in CAF-sanctioned competitions must possess either a CAF A Licence or CAF Pro Licence (or an equivalent from other confederations).

According to the coach’s online profile on transfermarkt.com, Coach Pantev holds a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) A Licence.

Notably, Pantev was previously at Gaborone United, whom he led against Simba in the first preliminary round of this season’s Champions League. The Botswana outfit lost 2-1 on aggregate (1-0 to Simba in Gaborone, followed by a 1-1 draw in Tanzania) and exited the competition.

Nsingizini’s claim goes further, alleging that Simba SC registered an ineligible technical team which differed from the one that appeared on match day.

“They submitted a team list with Mr Dimitar Nikolaev as a Team Manager on both matches while he is the head coach of Simba SC.

Full article available in our publication.

Nsingizini Hotspurs are challenging the eligibility of Simba Coach Dimitar Pantev. (Pic: Courtesy)