Times Of Swaziland: STILL NO DATE FOR SOMHLOLO RETURN

STILL NO DATE FOR SOMHLOLO RETURN
================================================================================
Machawe Fakudze on 12/04/2024 07:41:00


MBABANE – “We don’t have a definitive date on when the stadium will fully
re-open.”
These were the words of the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs
Communications Officer Sibongiseni Zondi, amid the Premier League of Eswatini
(PLE) venues’ challenge for MTN Premier League games. He was responding to a
questionnaire on when the stadium would be open for league games as phase three
rehabilitation was completed early this year.
The communications officer made it clear that as a ministry responsible for the
biggest arena in the country, they had no final date on when it would be
re-opened. “For now, we still don’t have a definitive date on when the
stadium will fully re-open,” Zondi said.
Dilemma
It is worth mentioning that the PLE is currently in venues dilemma for league
matches after the Mavuso Sports Centre, the second largest football arena in the
country, was closed for renovations at the VIP area box. This has forced the
Kenneth Makhanya-headed organisation to take the MTN Y’ello Saturday to an
unfamiliar place, which is the KaLanga Technical Centre.
This will be the double-header featuring Manzini Wanderers against Nsingizini
Hotspurs at 1pm. The second match will see Madlenya welcoming Mbabane
Highlanders at 3pm. Meanwhile, the Somhlolo National Stadium was temporally
opened for the grand opening, the semi-finals and finals of the Sincephetelo
Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund (SMVAF) sponsored Ingwenyama Cup.
The finals were played on Sunday and Correctional Services side Green Mamba
successfully defended the title after beating Mbabane Swallows 1-0 in front of
His Majesty King Mswati III.