MBABANE – Revealed!
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup envoys, AS Maniema Union, have finally made their intentions of signing Royal Leopard Captain Junior Magagula known.
This comes after a source close to the matter alleged that the ‘Greens and Blacks’ tabled a E260 000 offer to Ingwe Mabalabala for the midfield ace, who impressed them during the second preliminary round of the Confederation African Football (CAF) second-tier inter-club competition.
The exceptional performance of Magagula in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup sent shockwaves through the Central African country. He has not only captured the attention of AS Maniema Union, but also that of fierce rivals AS Vita.
The interest from both clubs follows the closely-contested 2025/26 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round, where Maniema Union narrowly beat Leopard 4-3 on penalties to advance to the group stages. Leopard had the advantage of an away goal following a 1-1 draw in the DRC, but a second 1-1 draw a week ago at the Somhlolo National Stadium forced the inevitable shoot-out.
AS Vita Club were recently reported to be attempting to hijack the police service side skipper’s proposed move to AS Maniema Union. They did this by approaching the DRC-born, International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)-accredited players’ agent Alimasi ‘Adebayo’ Saleh to initiate talks with Leopard. The latest development regarding Magagula’s proposed move is that Maniema have now stepped up a gear by tabling an offer of E260 000 to the Edwin Matsebula-coached side.
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Junior Magagula (L) in action for AS Maniema Union (DRC), the club that has tabled a E260 000 offer for the Royal Leopard star. (Pic:Sanele Jele)