MATCH COMMISSIONER MANGALISO IS LATE!

MBABANE – The football fraternity has been thrown into a mourning state following the death of well-known football administrator and Match Commissioner Mangaliso LaNgwenya.

LaNgwenya, who was also Secretary of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA), passed on after a short illness on Saturday night.
Reports of the veteran football official’s death started spreading like wild fire from early yesterday.

It was reliably gathered that the National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) Executive Committee member felt discomfort after a trip to Egypt over a week ago. On Wednesday, May 30, he headed to Polokwane in Limpopo for the COSAFA Cup, but he asked to be released back home early due to the illness. He eventually got a flight back home on Friday. Two days later, he was admitted to Mbabane Government Hospital where he passed on.

NFAS Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe said his office learnt about the sad news from the family yesterday, but would only issue a formal statement between today and tomorrow.

profession

LaNgwenya, who also used the surname Sihlongonyane, was also Chairman of the Lubombo Regional Football Association. He was a long-serving secretary in the same body. He was a head teacher by profession.
After an illustrious refereeing career spanning over 10 years, he became a Match Commissioner. In the past year, he got recognition from the regional body, COSAFA, where he was serving as secretary from last year until his demise.
COSAFA Media Officer Lynda Greeff said she learnt with shock about the developments, but referred comments to Competitions Committee Chairman Timothy Shongwe.

The latter’s phone was apparently switched off when called. National Referees Committee Secretary Gilbert Dlamini’s phone repeatedly rang unanswered when sought for comment. National Referees Association of Swaziland’s (NRAS) Sipho Kunene said it was a big blow to the refereeing fraternity, as the deceased groomed a lot of match officials. “He was very patient with the referees and we were still hoping to learn a lot from him.
“During our refereeing days, we had our first international assignment to Seychelles together,” said Kunene. Lubombo FA Secretary Sicelo Nene’s phone was apparently switched off for the better part of the day.

influential

Meanwhile, LaNgwenya’s death came at a time when the football family was still mourning the death of two other influential officials who include Premier League of Swaziland (PLS) Chairman Victor Gamedze, who died on January 14 this year. On March 27 this year, the country was mourning the death of Phillip ‘Big Daddy’ Dlamini, who was ironically the National Referees Committee chairman.

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