Mbabane: The Holy Grail of local football, Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) league title has been won by just 12 teams in the organisation’s 49 years of existence.
Next year, the PLE will be celebrating 50 years of existence after being established in 1971. Mbabane Highlanders have bagged the most league titles with an impressive 13 on the bag. Interestingly, the ‘Black Bull’ as the capital city giants are affectionately called last won the league 19-years-ago, in the 2000/01 season to be precise. Highlanders haul was recorded mostly in the 80s, where they fought tooth and nail with Manzini Wanderers and the 90s.
Second on the table are Highlanders’ bitter sworn rivals Mbabane Swallows with seven league crowns. The ‘Birds’ as they are fondly called find themselves up in the table despite the fact that it took them 22 years to win the league since the 1971 establishment of the PLE. After the 1993 success, it again took Swallows 11 years to record their second league success in the 2004/05 season and have since been consistent on the podium ever since thanks to the guidance of their dearly departed boss Victor Gamedze.
With six titles apiece are Manzini Wanderers and Royal Leopard. Again, Wanderers last tested league glory 18 years ago after winning the first edition of the MTN sponsored championship under the stewardship of the country’s most decorated coach Nyanga ‘Crooks’ Hlophe.
For Leopard, they never won the league until the 2005/2006 season but what is interesting is that when the police ensemble finally lay their hands on the coveted trophy, they always do it three times on the trot. That was also the case in-between 2013 and 2016.
Green Mamba, Denver Sundowns, Milling Hotspurs and XI Men in Flight have won it twice with Young Buffaloes, Mhlambanyatsi Rovers, Mhlume Peacemakers and Kwaluseni Juventus all on one each.
PLE LEAGUE WINNERS
Club (number of trophies)
Mbabane Highlanders (13)
Mbabane Swallows (7)
Manzini Wanderers (6)
Royal Leopard (6)
Denver Sundowns (2)
Green Mamba (2)
XI Men in Flight (2)
Milling Hotspurs (2)
Mhlambanyatsi Rovers (1)
Young Buffaloes (1)
Kwaluseni Juventus (1)
Mhlume Peacemakers (1)
HISTORY OF PLE LEAGUE WINNERS
1971 Milling Hotspurs
1972 Milling Hotspurs
1973 (not known)
1974 Mbabane Highlanders
1976 Mbabane Highlanders
1977 Kwaluseni Juventus
1980 Mbabane Highlanders
1981 Mhlume Peacemakers
1982 Mbabane Highlanders
1983 Manzini Wanderers
1984 Mbabane Highlanders
1985 Manzini Wanderers
1986 Mbabane Highlanders
1987 Manzini Wanderers
1988 Mbabane Highlanders
1989 Denver Sundowns
1990 Denver Sundowns
1991 Mbabane Highlanders
1992 Mbabane Highlanders
1993 Mbabane Swallows
1994 XI Men in Flight
1995 Mbabane Highlanders
1996 XI Men in Flight
1997 Mbabane Highlanders
1998 (no championship)
1998/99 Manzini Wanderers
1999/00 Mbabane Highlanders
2000/01 Mbabane Highlanders
2001/02 Manzini Wanderers
2002/03 Manzini Wanderers
2003/04 Mhlambanyatsi Rovers
2004/05 Mbabane Swallows
2005/06 Royal Leopard
2006/07 Royal Leopard
2007/08 Royal Leopard
2008/09 Mbabane Swallows
2009/10 Young Buffaloes
2010/11 Green Mamba
2011/12 Mbabane Swallows
2012/13 Mbabane Swallows
2013/14 Royal Leopard
2014/15 Royal Leopard
2015/16 Royal Leopard
2016/17 Mbabane Swallows
2017/18 Mbabane Swallows
2018/19 Green Mamba
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