Football

MBABANE – What does over E700 000 buy you in international football?

For Eswatini, it bought Zdravko Logarusic’s one-year stint as Sihlangu SeMnikati head coach – and a return of just three wins in 15 matches.

The Croatian tactician arrived in August 2024 on a deal worth E60 000 per month, amounting to E720 000 for the full term.

His contract was cut short with two months still to run, however, by then, the Eswatini Football Association (EFA) had already committed over E700 000 to his salary package. By contrast, local coaches have been earning E30 000 or less per month – half the figure or even lower.

On the pitch, the numbers tell their own story.

In 15 fixtures across major competitions and qualifiers, Sihlangu managed three wins, five draws and seven defeats, giving Logarusic a 20 per cent win rate.

His highlights included back-to-back victories over Zimbabwe in the CHAN qualifiers and a narrow win against Madagascar.

But these were overshadowed by heavy defeats, including a 6–0 thrashing at the hands of Mali and a 3–0 reversal against Mozambique.

Full article available in our publication.

Former Sihlangu Coach Zdravko Logarusic. (Pic: File)