‘SIHLANGU NEED REVIEWING’

MBABANE – “We need to review where we lost it with our national team.” These remarks were made by the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga, during the Editors’ Breakfast Meeting that was held yesterday at Sibane Hotel.

The minister was responding to a question posed by Eswatini Observer’s Mbongeni Mbingo, who was questioning the minister on the steps that ought to be taken to improve the current state of Sihlangu.
In his response, Bulunga admitted that Sihlangu’s performance, especially in the past four years, was a cause for concern, not only to the ministry but at national level.

Scrutinise

He said Sihlangu represented the country in the world’s popular sport, soccer, and the way forward was to scrutinise the missing link needed to improve their performance.
Sihlangu are fresh from a 4-1 defeat to Senegal’s Teranga Lions in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers game that was played on Sunday at Mavuso Sports Ground.

The match suffixed another disappointing 3-1 loss which they suffered in the hands of Guinea Bissau in an away game played last week.
“I must admit that Sihlangu’s performance is a cause for concern for the entire nation.

This is an indication to Eswatini Sports and Recreation Council that we need to work hard in reviewing where we lost it, especially judging from their declining performance observed in the past four years. We do not only need to work on the symptoms, but address the issues of talent in all sports. This review has to be made both in terms of coaching and administration,” said Bulunga.

Competitions

He further mentioned that Eswatini was notably doing well in sports such as boxing, tennis and taekwondo as they manage to bring home medals and trophies of excellence from international competitions.
Bulunga highlighted that another determinant factor was the limited base of athletes to choose from, which was also limited in the elite teams.

“Schools provide a broader pool of quality physical education that helps to identify talent as the children spend six to eight hours a day there.
‘‘By supporting development from grass roots level, we are contributing to having a high performance national team,” said Bulunga.

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