Times Of Swaziland: MINISTER: GIVE SIHLANGU COACH BENEFIT OF DOUBT

MINISTER: GIVE SIHLANGU COACH BENEFIT OF DOUBT
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Nimrod Hlophe on 27/09/2024 08:28:00


MBABANE – The Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima,
has said the current national team coach, Zdravko Logarusic, should be given
time to deliver.
Nzima mentioned that the Croatian tactician needs sufficient time to implement
changes and achieve the desired outcomes. He said while there has not been much
to see from the coach yet, he believes Logarusic can turn things around. “I
may not say I’m happy, but for now, let’s give the current coach the benefit
of the doubt. We had a coach before and changed him. We also have programmes to
unearth new talents, which we want to groom and prepare for higher stages,”
Nzima said.
Appointment
Logarusic has been in charge for two matches, both of which ended in defeats.
Shortly after his appointment, he led the national team against Guinea Bissau
and Mali, suffering 1-0 defeats in both TotalEnergies Confederation of African
Football (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.  Eswatini Football
Association (EFA) gave the former Zimbabwe National Football coach a two-year
deal, over three weeks ago. His predecessor, Dominic Kunene, held the position,
from 2020 until May this year, without managing to qualify for any international
tournaments.
It is also worth noting that the EFA held a national teams’ indaba at the
beginning of the year. It aimed to develop a turnaround strategy to address the
poor performance of the national teams. Meanwhile, Sihlangu have intensified
preparations for the upcoming matches against Mozambique on October 11 and 14.