MBABANE – A disastrous year-long competitive blackout awaits Sihlangu Semnikati following their humiliating failure to qualify for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 group stages.
The coachless national team suffered a devastating blow after falling to unranked Eritrea in the two-legged preliminary round, losing 4-1 on aggregate. Eritrea won the first leg 2-0 in Meknes, Morocco, before finishing the job a week later at the Somhlolo National Stadium, securing a 2-1 victory in the return leg.
Eritrea’s historic victory marked their triumphant return to international football after an 18-year isolation, which had stemmed from government fears that players would flee the country to seek political asylum. Strikingly, from the Eritrean squad that played at Somhlolo, seven players did not return home and are currently in Eswatini seeking political asylum.
Political asylum is a form of legal and humanitarian protection granted by a sovereign nation to a foreign national who is fleeing their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution.
When a person is granted asylum, the host country gives them the right to stay legally, protects them from being deported back to the danger they fled and eventually provides a pathway to work and live there permanently.
According to an authoritative source close to the Eswatini Football Association (EFA), the national team is now set to remain completely idle for over a year as they face a lengthy wait for their next competitive fixture.
“Local football fans will have to wait until September next year to see the squad return to action when the qualifiers for the 2030 FIFA World Cup are scheduled to get underway,” the source said.
The source stated that the Lindo ‘Bhabhalazi’ Mkhonta-captained troops might get a solitary chance to compete in the regional showpiece, the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup, which at this moment remains in limbo.
COSAFA had anticipated hosting the competition ahead of the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States of America (USA), but failed to secure a host nation.
EFA Marketing and Communications Manager Muzi ‘Rhoo’ Radebe confirmed that the squad would be grounded due to the COSAFA tournament remaining up in the air.
“The first FIFA week after the World Cup will be for the AFCON qualifiers, which is going to be played in January next year,” Radebe said.
He expressed hope that the local football mother body would devise a plan to keep the squad active as they wait for the 2030 World Cup qualifiers later next year.
The qualification phase for the 2030 FIFA World Cup is expected to begin in late 2027. For CAF, qualification is anticipated to kick off in September 2027, right after the conclusion of the AFCON 2027 tournament which wraps up in July, with the main group stages running through to 2029.
Meanwhile, the EFA remains in the market in search of a permanent head coach to fill the void left by Croatian gaffer Zdravko ‘Loga’ Logarusic, who vacated the hot seat in September last year.
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