By Chris Dlamini
Eswatini league champions Nsingizini Hotspurs will not be travelling to Zimbabwe for their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League preliminary round fixture next month.
Why? This follows a decision by CAF to remove Zimbabwe’s National Sports Stadium from its list of approved stadiums on Tuesday. 
The latest decision follows an ongoing inspection process of various stadiums ahead of the kick-off of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 mid-next month. Nsingizini play Zimbabwe outfit, Simba Bhora FC.
The CAF decision means Nsingizini will play their rivals in a neutral venue, possibly in South Africa (SA) or Botswana in the first leg around September 19, before hosting Simba at the temporarily approved Somhlolo National Stadium in Lobamba, for the first time since its over six-year ban.
Zimbabwe joins other States who already have their venues unapproved. These are Central African Republic, Lesotho, Djibouti, Eritrea, Guinea Conakry, Namibia, Sao Tome, Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Somalia.