Mbabane-Heavy rains have disrupted games in the MTN league. Teams should expect fixture congestions due to the bad weather.
Tambankulu Callies game vs Green Mamba was cancelled on Saturday and the game was supposed to be played at Tambankulu Stadium.
MTN National First Division (NFD) double-header that was supposed to be played at Manzini Club yesterday was also cancelled. Sisonkhe were to face Ubombo Flyers, while Milling Hot Spurs had a date with Louis XIV. This brings the total number of cancelled games to seven.At least five matches, both in top flight football and NFD leagues had earlier been called off due to the rains, as pitches were deemed unplayable. It was all at the eleventh hour, as the rains continued. In the MTN NFD League, three fixtures had to be cancelled, while the MTN Premier League saw two washed off.
This follows that most of the venues that the affected games were supposed to be hosted at on Friday and yesterday were waterlogged. The cancelled elite fixtures are that of Tambankulu Callies against Green Mamba and that involving Tambuti and Madlenya, which was set for Tambankulu Stadium and Mayaluka Stadium, respectively.
These were scheduled for, but the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) announced that they were off. Green Mamba were the leaders in the standings but had since been dislodged by Young Buffaloes, who won 2-1 over Denver Sundowns on Saturday.
For the NFD, there was no action on Saturday, as double-headers that had been set for Killarney Sports Ground in Pigg’s Peak were deferred. Malanti Chiefs were to welcome Shooting Stars in the first match, while Kappa Kappa were to face-off with Illovo. On Friday, a game between Pigg’s Peak Black Swallows and Rangers was also postponed
This, besides causing a fixture backlog for the PLE that also struggles for venues, has disrupted the heated E50 000 NFD first round race, as some games had to play simultaneously. Ezulwini United and Rangers’ fixtures have to play at the same time as they are competing. But the former went ahead and beat All Nations 1-0 on Friday at King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium, and toppled Rangers at the summit. The latter did not play their match.
Meanwhile, it was not only PLE activities that were affected by the rains. Eswatini Women Football League (EWFL) and Build it Nhlangano Under-13s also postponed fixtures.
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