Sihlangu coach Billen still at home

MBABANE – Sihlangu Belgian head coach, Valere Billen’s critically ill mother has delayed the coach’s return.

He was expected in the country this week. Depending on his mother’s condition Billen will not be coming back to the country anytime soon and will delay the start of Sihlangu’s preparations for the 2015 AFCON Qualifiers that are expected to start in late October or early November.
National Football Association of Swaziland (NFAS) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Mngomezulu confirmed the latest development yesterday.

“The coach indicated to the association that he will not be in a position to return on the set date because he was still monitoring his mother’s condition back home. We will inform the nation on his new arrival date,” he said.
Billen, no doubt the most unpopular coach to lead the national squad in recent times was retained for another year by the NFAS and will lead the squad in the forthcoming qualifiers.

“Our idea as an association is to ensure that we utilise each and every FIFA week so that the squad remain active. As i said in the past, it would be crucial for the squad to be active because the draw could be done in such a way that the high ranking countries are seeded.

“This would automatically mean the lower ranking countries could be drawn to play against any of the heavyweights in the continent. Sihlangu can play against the likes of Senegal, Ivory Coast and the other giants. We cannot therefore relax,” Mngomezulu said.
Sihlangu under Billen failed to impress and at one point played eight games without scoring a single goal.

The Sihlangu players, however, appealed to the NFAS executive to retain him. This was after the disastrous Cosafa Cup outing, which Sihlangu finished without scoring a goal in three outings.
The tournament was played in Zambia.  

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