By Chris Dlamini
The high costs of playing in the CAF inter-club competitions may present Shiselweni side, Nsingizini Hotspurs with a rare opportunity to realise their long-cherished dream of venturing into Africa.
CAF stands for Confederation of African Football. Insingizi Yezulu may have to come in and take the now-available CAF Confederation Cup slot for Eswatini.
They are not the only team with this opportunity, but the police ensemble Royal Leopard as well. The latter are currently fifth in the league standings with 43 points to Nsingizini’s 45.
How so? This is after ticket holders Green Mamba declined participation in the upcoming tournament.
Reports emerged yesterday that the Ingwenyama Cup champions who took home E1.3 million after edging Mbabane Swallows 1-0, will not be playing in the competition. The main reason is money.
“It would be better if we had won both the league and Ingwenyama Cup.
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That we don’t have an available stadium domestically doesn’t make financial sense as we made a loss of E600 000 early this year paying stadium and travel fees among other things when we played against UD do Songo in Mozambique in just one preliminary round,”
Green Mamba’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mandla Sibiya was quoted by one of the online publications.
He said it was clearly going to be some time before Eswatini had an available stadium as Somhlolo National Stadium was still under reconstruction.
Called again over the matter, he affirmed their non-participation.
“Yes, it’s true. The expenses are too high when you compete in CAF competitions. Playing away all the time is stressful for clubs,” he responded.
This situation leaves their ticket idle and their Ingwenyama Cup runners-up,
Mbabane Swallows will be playing in the CAF Champions League as already confirmed with the Eswatini Football Association (EFA).
The latter also has a letter from Green Mamba declining the CAF Confederation Cup participation, while Swallows,
As the league champions confirmed their Champions League return unofficially for now since the 2017/18 edition in which they went as far as the group stages.
In the MTN Premier League, Green Mamba are vying for the runners-up spot and currently sit in second with 47 points.
However, they play Mbabane Highlanders this weekend in the final match of the season but have Young Buffaloes and Nsingizini Hotspurs also gunning for the second spot.
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Under the circumstances, the EFA would have to hand over the Confederation Cup slot to the Ingwenyama Cup runners-up, but they (Swallows) have since won the league with a game to spare.
This then leaves Insingizi Yezulu with a big chance given Buffaloes also did not participate in the Confederation Cup after winning the ticket as league runners-up to Green Mamba last season following a late withdrawal for the same financial reasons as the former.
For Buffaloes, the CAF rules speak of a two-year absence from any of the CAF inter-club tournaments as punishment for late withdrawal, rendering them ineligible.
Nsingizini is placed fourth currently and has also won the MoMo Cup 2024.
However, their standing in the league puts them at an advantage alongside Royal Leopard who can still finish above them as they are separated by just two points.
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So, there could be more to play for than just the second spot for Nsingizini and Leopard – the CAF Confederation Cup ticket.
There were calls for Insingizi to play in the Confederation Cup last season after the elite debutants clinched the MoMo Cup before defending it this season and improving their league performance.
Insingizi Yezulu Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mnotfo Nkhosi said they would have to sit on the round table given the costs involved here.
“That’s a very tough one to respond to because we are still building the team,” he said.
His Leopard counterpart, Frank Hurube was also sought but in vain.
The only other team close to the top five and capable of playing in the CAF competition in terms of financial resources is Mbabane Highlanders, who are placed sixth on the league table.
Meanwhile, EFA Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe could only say there was nothing official and would not entertain further questions.