Mbabane – Sihlangu sneaked out of the country on Tuesday afternoon for a friendly match against Black Bulls in Mozambique this morning only for the match to be washed away by Tropical Cyclone Filipo.
The senior football national team has been in full time camp since Sunday afternoon in readiness for the back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary qualifier games against Somalia next weekend in Morocco.
The game against Black Bulls was scheduled for 9.30am today.
“Unfortunately I’m on sick leave and not entirely aware of the Sihlangu schedule. What I do know is that the team is in full time camp and it will be best that you contact the coach (Dominic Kunene),” said Eswatini Football Association Marketing and Communications Officer Muzi Radebe when reached.
While efforts to reach Kunene proved futile, it remains to be seen if Sihlangu will lodge in Mozambique for the next few days and hope for the harsh weather conditions to get better or are on their way back.
The has been no formal communication from EFA, at least through the media on the Mozambique trip.
Low wind shear in the Mozambique Channel allowed Tropical Cyclone Filipo to strengthen off the coast of southeast Africa.
It was reported that Filipo carried maximum wind speeds of about 80 kilometers per hour—equivalent to a tropical storm on the Saffir-Simpson wind scale.
The storm, centered several hundred kilometers off the south-central coast of Mozambique, was moving southwest and ultimately made landfall yesterday (Tuesday) at about 5am near the coastal town of Inhassoro.
Filipo is said to have weakened as it moved across land on Tuesday (March 12), but it continued to deliver strong winds and heavy rain in the Inhambane and Gaza provinces.
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