(At Mavuso Sports Centre)
MANZINI – Disgrace!
That was the only word to describe the situation surrounding the abandonment of the 8Bet Trade Fair Cup 2026 Last 16 tie between Green Mamba and Red Rhinos, scheduled for Mavuso Sports Centre yesterday.
The drama stems from an off-season deal that saw Manzini Wanderers, who finished bottom of the log, buy Red Rhinos’ status to avoid relegation.
The genesis of the matter was when the questions were asked as to which club will play in the competition between the two clubs. This question escalated when neither sides were present during the E200 000 kits presentation, which was held at the same venue, before the start of the tournament.
It was evident that the match will not take place as the Correctional Services side were the only team to turn up for warm-up. Red Rhinos were nowhere to be seen, and the match never got under way.
The Lubombo-based club is owned by Premier League of Eswatini Vice Chairman Sithembiso ‘Ngudze’ Mamba. They sold their MTN Premier League status just weeks after winning the 2025/26 MulaSport National First Division, a result that had earned them promotion to the top flight.
The match was eventually called off as Green Mamba players were seen leaving the centre.
The Mthunzi Ginindza-coached side Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Nthuthuko Dlamini expressed his disappointment on the shameful event, as he said they wanted to use the match as part of their preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup fixture against Angolan side Agusto, which will be played on Saturday.
“This will affect us as we were anticipating to use the match for our CAF preparations, but we will wait for the reports,” Dlamini said.
He revealed the match officials came to check the team as they were ready to play.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s managing committee (MC) chairman, who also doubles as Red Rhinos president, said the game was supposed to be played, but due to the delay by the football authorities in giving them the way forward, it had to be called off.
“The truth is that Wanderers acquired Red Rhinos’ status and we wrote to inform the Premier League of Eswatini on August 24 about the development,” Mamba said.
He revealed that they only received a correspondence from the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) on the approval of the status sale at 1pm yesterday a few hours before the game.
“We were told that we should trade as Wanderers and the latter should trade as Red Rhinos. This will affect us as we have sponsors, so we can’t operate as Wanderers,” he said.
On the other hand, the ‘Weslians’ Head of Communications Sandile ‘Ntofo’ Dlamini said they only received the letter late, stating that they could not play as Red Rhinos.
He then apologised to the maroon and white hub giants supporters for the inconvenience.
The PLE, through a media statement release a few hours after the cancellation of match, apologised for the inconvenience caused, stating that further communication regarding tickets refund will be shared in due course.
According to the 8Bet Trade Fair Cup Rules and Regulations on Article 8.10, a club which fails to honour a fixture or abandons or causes the abandonment of a match shall forfeit the match to the opposing team and in addition to any other applicable fine as outlined in these rules, the club shall forfeit all monies due to them according to these rules.
Further the club shall be liable to disciplinary action and if found guilty, it shall be liable to a fine not less than E100 000.
Ucinisile Ngudze nakatsi those running the premier league have egos. They want to destroy teams that have the potential to compete with their teams. Sekucale nini kuba struggle kangaka kutsenga status