Times Of Swaziland: ‘AWOL’ TENANILE JOINS EQ. GUINEA TEAM

‘AWOL’ TENANILE JOINS EQ. GUINEA TEAM
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Pholsile Hlophe on 13/04/2022 08:41:00


MBABANE – Foul play is now suspected in Tenanile Ngcamphalala’s historic
transfer to Equatorial Guinea.
Young Buffaloes Ladies striker and national team, Sitsebe, player Tenanile
‘Madinane’ Ngcamphalala has become the first local female soccer player to
secure a contract with a foreign team. The prolific forward reportedly signed a
contract with Equatorial Guinea ladies team, Maloba Kings on March 24, 2022 and
has already scored eight goals in three games for her new team.
While congratulations were the order of the day when the news of her transfer
made the rounds on social media platforms, team Manager Bonga Ngcamphalala
denied knowledge of the player’s transfer, but claimed to have been stunned by
these developments. Ngcamphalala revealed that he also learnt about Tenanile’s
move last week and suspected foul play as he never signed her clearance
documents. In an effort to get to the bottom of the matter, he said Young
Buffaloes was awaiting a response from the Eswatini Football Association (EFA)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as they wrote a letter enquiring about their
knowledge and involvement in the player’s transfer. He, however, said
Buffaloes fully supported players who decided to pursue their dreams
internationally but was not in agreement with the manner in which the transfer
was done.
Complaint
“As a team, we did not release the player. She has been missing from the team
for one month. We don’t bar players from pursuing their dreams but in this
case, we lodged a complaint with the EFA because I suspect that my signature as
the team manager was fiddled with. We are still waiting for a response from the
EFA,” Bonga said. Probed on the team authorities’ reaction to the player’s
disappearance since her last match in February, where she scored four goals
against AS Interladies in their 5-0 victory in their 11 match of the Women’s
Football League, he said; “I even contacted her parents but discovered that
her mother was not feeling well. I gathered that this started in January but
surprisingly, the team management was not involved. Again, let me emphasise that
we are not against players’ wishes to join other clubs but it should be done
properly,” he said.
EFA Communications and Marketing Officer Muzi Radebe denied having received any
letter from Young Buffaloes Ladies pertaining to the player's transfer. “We
have not received such a letter. Unfortunately the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Frederick Mngomezulu is pre-occupied with the football association’s projects
and has hasn’t been in the office today (yesterday),” Radebe said.
Meanwhile, Eswatini Women’s Football Association (EWFA) Chief Operations
Officer (COO) Ntandoyenkosi Hlatjwayo said the player’s transfer was an
inspiration to others. She commended Tenanile for her hard work and excellence
in the national team, which earned her the recognition. She scored two braces in
Sitsebe’s 2019 and 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship when they played against
Mozambique and Angola. She also leaves behind a 25-goal-contribution to
Buffaloes’ 154 goals after 16 games. “As an association, we are proud of
having produced a player of international caliber. We wish her well and hope
that she will do her best to hoist the kingdom’s flag,” Hlatjwayo said. She
further encouraged other players to work hard in order to stand better
opportunities at an international level.