SIHLANGU’S COSTLY AFCON LESSON AS: OVER E1.4M ‘MALI’ SPENT ON LAST MATCH

MBABANE – The humiliating end of Eswatini’s TotalEnergies AFCON Qualifiers campaign was an ironically expensive lesson as the EFA has revealed its estimated financial costs.

The 2025 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), to be played in Morocco, concluded this week with a heavy defeat for the national team, Sihlangu, as Mali hammered them 6-0, on Tuesday. The Zdravko ‘Loga’ Logarusic’s charges finished at the bottom of their group with two points after six matches. The Eswatini Football Association (EFA) has disclosed the staggering costs of the trip to the western part of the continent. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngometulu stated that this was one of the costliest journeys, with E1.1 million spent on flight tickets. The Eswatini delegation included 20 players, members of the technical bench and the head of the delegation. Mngometulu further disclosed an additional cost of US$21 000 for hotel bookings, which converts to E380 341.49 at yesterday’s foreign exchange rate.

This brings the total to E1 480 341.49, excluding other undisclosed costs such as meals and communication expenses. However, they were exempt from transportation and training facilities fees as these were provided by the host association, the Malian Football Association (FMF), in accordance with CAF guidelines. It is worth noting that the EFA is not the only association facing expensive away game trips.

According to Scrolla News and FarPost, flying Bafana Bafana to international away games has become very costly for the South African Football Association (SAFA). SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao revealed in September that long-distance travel across Africa poses significant financial challenges. To ensure the team was well-rested for AFCON back-to-back games, SAFA used costly private charter flights. For example, the private flight to Nigeria cost about E3.5 million, while a trip to Congo Brazzaville cost around E2.5 million. These high costs are a heavy burden on SAFA’s budget, prompting appeals to sponsors and the government for assistance.

Meanwhile, Coach Hugo Broos thanked SAFA for arranging private flights, stating that without them, the team would have faced a 20-hour commercial flight with stops, which could have affected their performance. Notably, the EFA spends a minimum of E933 000 for hosting home games at Mbombela Stadium since Somhlolo National Stadium was frozen by CAF in 2022. The Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs has revealed that a minimum of E10 263 000 has been spent hosting matches outside the country over the past two years. Eswatini’s next flight will be to Madagascar for the African Nations Championships (CHAN) after Christmas.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: