SIHLANGU AFCON GAME IN LIMBO

MBABANE – It seems Sihlangu will have to wait longer before kicking a ball in an official fixture.

Pieter de Jongh’s troops are supposed to face World Cup-bound Tunisia in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifier in their next official match on the last week of March 2018. However, the match now hangs in the balance following a decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to entertain a proposal by Nigeria to have qualifiers during that period put on ice. Instead, Nigeria, who have also qualified for the FIFA World Cup to be staged in Russia in June next year, want to play friendly matches during the March FIFA week. Nigeria, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia will be Africa’s five flag bearers during the global soccer showpiece. They will all be engaged in AFCON 2019 qualifiers in the next FIFA window in March and this will be the last FIFA break before the World Cup. According to a correspondence from the continental football body, there will be a meeting in the next few days to discuss Nigeria’s proposal.

“Super Eagles spokesman Toyin Ibitoye said Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick, has proposed that the next FIFA window should now be used by the World Cup finalists to prepare for world football’s showpiece tournament. “In the next few days CAF will meet to deliberate a proposal by the NFF president on using the FIFA window in March for the World Cup flag bearers to play friendly matches ahead of Russia 2018,” Pinnick was quoted saying. As head coach, De Jongh’s contract will expire at the end of March; he would not coach Sihlangu in an official fixture again if the proposal becomes successful. However, his contract can still be renewed by the country’s football mother body. In his reign, he coached the national side in one AFCON Qualifier, and it was the away goal-less draw with Niger early this year. Another country in the same qualifying group as Swaziland is Egypt. Sihlangu did not play any game since the 0-7 aggregate defeat to Zambia in a botched African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifying campaign in July. National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) Marketing and Communications Officer, Muzi Radebe, said his office read about the proposal, but would still prepare for the March fixture unless told otherwise.

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