MBABANE – Entry fees for Sihlangu Semnikati’s historic European clash against Malta stand at E184.
The Eswatini senior national football outfit are away for Thursday’s international friendly against Malta at the National Stadium in Ta’ Qali. Tickets for the main enclosure are priced at €10 (approximately E184). By comparison, football fans in Eswatini typically pay a maximum of E60 for top-flight Premier League matches, while Nsingizini Hotspurs occasionally set continental Confederation of African Football (CAF) fixture tickets at E80.
The national squad arrived on the Mediterranean island on Tuesday afternoon via Dubai ahead of what marks Eswatini’s first-ever international fixture on European soil against a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) member state, according to reports by Maltese digital news house Lovin Malta.
Despite the geographic distance separating the two countries, only four places divide them in the official International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) world rankings, promising a tight encounter.
For Malta Head Coach Emilio De Leo, the match serves as crucial preparation ahead of their final UEFA Nations League clash against Gibraltar on Monday, November 16, where his side needs just one point to secure top spot in their group.
Sihlangu will field a squad missing veteran striker Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa, who is off-form. The Green Mamba forward, who boasts 78 international caps, was left out of the traveling contingent. Instead, the technical team will lean on foreign-based attacking options, led by South Africa-based winger Justice Figueredo, who currently turns out for Betway Premiership outfit Chippa United.
This is not Malta’s first meeting with African opposition, having previously defeated the Central African Republic 2-1 in August 2011, courtesy of a brace from Maltese football icon Michael Mifsud. Kick-off is set for 7:30pm Eswatini time.
