‘AWOL’ TENANILE JOINS EQ. GUINEA TEAM

MBABANE – Foul play is now suspected in Tenanile Ngcamphalala’s historic transfer to Equatorial Guinea.

Young Buffaloes Ladies striker and national team, Sitsebe, player Tenanile ‘Madinane’ Ngcamphalala has become the first local female soccer player to secure a contract with a foreign team. The prolific forward reportedly signed a contract with Equatorial Guinea ladies team, Maloba Kings on March 24, 2022 and has already scored eight goals in three games for her new team.

While congratulations were the order of the day when the news of her transfer made the rounds on social media platforms, team Manager Bonga Ngcamphalala denied knowledge of the player’s transfer, but claimed to have been stunned by these developments. Ngcamphalala revealed that he also learnt about Tenanile’s move last week and suspected foul play as he never signed her clearance documents. In an effort to get to the bottom of the matter, he said Young Buffaloes was awaiting a response from the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as they wrote a letter enquiring about their knowledge and involvement in the player’s transfer. He, however, said Buffaloes fully supported players who decided to pursue their dreams internationally but was not in agreement with the manner in which the transfer was done.

Complaint

“As a team, we did not release the player. She has been missing from the team for one month. We don’t bar players from pursuing their dreams but in this case, we lodged a complaint with the EFA because I suspect that my signature as the team manager was fiddled with. We are still waiting for a response from the EFA,” Bonga said. Probed on the team authorities’ reaction to the player’s disappearance since her last match in February, where she scored four goals against AS Interladies in their 5-0 victory in their 11 match of the Women’s Football League, he said; “I even contacted her parents but discovered that her mother was not feeling well. I gathered that this started in January but surprisingly, the team management was not involved. Again, let me emphasise that we are not against players’ wishes to join other clubs but it should be done properly,” he said.

EFA Communications and Marketing Officer Muzi Radebe denied having received any letter from Young Buffaloes Ladies pertaining to the player's transfer. “We have not received such a letter. Unfortunately the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu is pre-occupied with the football association’s projects and has hasn’t been in the office today (yesterday),” Radebe said.

Meanwhile, Eswatini Women’s Football Association (EWFA) Chief Operations Officer (COO) Ntandoyenkosi Hlatjwayo said the player’s transfer was an inspiration to others. She commended Tenanile for her hard work and excellence in the national team, which earned her the recognition. She scored two braces in Sitsebe’s 2019 and 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship when they played against Mozambique and Angola. She also leaves behind a 25-goal-contribution to Buffaloes’ 154 goals after 16 games. “As an association, we are proud of having produced a player of international caliber. We wish her well and hope that she will do her best to hoist the kingdom’s flag,” Hlatjwayo said. She further encouraged other players to work hard in order to stand better opportunities at an international level.

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