Times Of Swaziland: Billen’s one way ticket home

Billen’s one way ticket home
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BY DUMISANI NTIWANE on 08/08/2013 01:21:00


MBABANE – National team Sihlangu coach, Valere Billen has been bought a one
way ticket back to Belgium.
His employers, the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) issued the
Belgian with the one way ticket last week. He left the country last Wednesday.
Informed sources confided to this newspaper that the coach who led Sihlangu to a
disastrous outing in the recently ended CHAN and Cosafa Castle Cup competitions
will not be returning to the country.
“If he does, then it means he will have to be in a position to purchase his
own ticket. We all know that is highly unlikely. While it is true that his
contract expires at the end of this month (August), it is a foregone conclusion
that both parties have decided to part ways amicably.
“It is actually the coach who persuaded the FA to buy him an air ticket home
under the guise that he wanted to attend to some personal and family matters
back home,” our source said.
NFAS Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu confirmed that the coach
was back in Belgium but expressed confidence that he would return.
“He made us aware that his mother back home was critically ill, as an
association we had no choice but to grant him the leave. When he got the news on
his mother, apparently she was already in a critical state, hence the coach had
to rush home.
“His contract only expires on August 30 and we expect him back to see it to
its end. The Football Association’s executive will only be meeting this week
to deliberate on the national team activities. I cannot therefore be drawn to
comment on issues touching on the national team activities,” he said.
Mngomezulu could, however, not be drawn to say when the Belgian was expected
back in the country.
Billen, who has been among the most unpopular of the Sihlangu coaches in
history, has failed to lead the squad to any official victory. Under his reign,
Sihlangu have gone for 810 minutes of football action without scoring a single
goal.
These games include the two-legged CHAN encounters against Angola played home
and away and the three games during the Cosafa Cup played in Zambia against
Botswana, Kenya and Lesotho.
Billen could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press last
night.