ESWATINI, LESOTHO YET TO PLAY AFCON

MBABANE – A big concern for the nation.

This is the story of the national team Sihlangu and their counterparts Lesotho, which is one of perseverance in the face of adversity. Eswatini and Lesotho are the only two countries in the region that are yet to qualify for the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, which began earlier this month.

The tournament entered into the quarter-finals yesterday with South Africa, Angola and Democratic Republic of Congo the regional representatives left. Bafana Bafana have a date with Cape Verde, a team that recently defeated Sihlangu 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup Qualifier match, played at the Mbombela Stadium in South Africa.

The local squad will resume their 2026 World Cup Qualifying campaign in June, taking on Angola, who have advanced to the next round of the AFCON as the winners of Group D with seven points. Eswatini will play two qualifying matches this year, with the second match against Mauritius, a team that is not participating in the AFCON. Cameroon, the runners-up in Group C of the AFCON, which was won by defending champions Senegal, have also advanced to the second round.

Sihlangu Semnikati Head Coach Dominic Kunene said he was optimistic that Sihlangu would one day qualify for the tournament. “When you observe the AFCON tournament, you see that teams that are considered underdogs often perform very well, which gives us hope that Eswatini will also qualify for the tournament in the future. Additionally, the performances of our players outside the country provide further reason for optimism,” Kunene said.

Candidates

Recently, the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) proposed adding two assistant coaches to support Kunene. Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane and Ernest Mavuso of Green Mamba were identified as potential candidates for these positions. EFA President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane revealed that this decision was made after careful consideration of inputs from stakeholders, including the Football Indaba.

The first edition of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament was held in 1957, making it one of the oldest continental football competitions in the world. The inaugural tournament was held in Sudan and only three teams participated: Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Egypt emerged as the first champion, winning all two of their matches.

Since then, the tournament has been held every two years, with some exceptions due to political instability or other issues in the host countries. The number of participating teams has also increased over the years, with 24 teams taking part in the most recent editions.  

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