Times Of Swaziland: SIHLANGU’S COSTLY AFCON LESSON AS: OVER E1.4M ‘MALI’  SPENT ON LAST MATCH

SIHLANGU’S COSTLY AFCON LESSON AS: OVER E1.4M ‘MALI’  SPENT ON LAST MATCH
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Nimrod Hlophe on 22/11/2024 08:01:00


MBABANE – The humiliating end of Eswatini’s TotalEnergies AFCON Qualifiers
campaign was an ironically expensive lesson as the EFA has revealed its
estimated financial costs.
The 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON),
to be played in Morocco, concluded this week with a heavy defeat for the
national team, Sihlangu, as Mali hammered them 6-0, on Tuesday. The Zdravko
‘Loga’ Logarusic’s charges finished at the bottom of their group with two
points after six matches. The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) has disclosed
the staggering costs of the trip to the western part of the continent. Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngometulu stated that this was one of the
costliest journeys, with E1.1 million spent on flight tickets. The Eswatini
delegation included 20 players, members of the technical bench and the head of
the delegation. Mngometulu further disclosed an additional cost of US$21 000 for
hotel bookings, which converts to E380 341.49 at yesterday’s foreign exchange
rate.
This brings the total to E1 480 341.49, excluding other undisclosed costs such
as meals and communication expenses. However, they were exempt from
transportation and training facilities fees as these were provided by the host
association, the Malian Football Association (FMF), in accordance with CAF
guidelines. It is worth noting that the EFA is not the only association facing
expensive away game trips.
According to Scrolla News and FarPost, flying Bafana Bafana to international
away games has become very costly for the South African Football Association
(SAFA). SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao revealed in September that long-distance travel
across Africa poses significant financial challenges. To ensure the team was
well-rested for AFCON back-to-back games, SAFA used costly private charter
flights. For example, the private flight to Nigeria cost about E3.5 million,
while a trip to Congo Brazzaville cost around E2.5 million. These high costs are
a heavy burden on SAFA’s budget, prompting appeals to sponsors and the
government for assistance.
Meanwhile, Coach Hugo Broos thanked SAFA for arranging private flights, stating
that without them, the team would have faced a 20-hour commercial flight with
stops, which could have affected their performance. Notably, the EFA spends a
minimum of E933 000 for hosting home games at Mbombela Stadium since Somhlolo
National Stadium was frozen by CAF in 2022. The Ministry of Sports, Culture and
Youth Affairs has revealed that a minimum of E10 263 000 has been spent hosting
matches outside the country over the past two years. Eswatini’s next flight
will be to Madagascar for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) after
Christmas.