The ghosts of 2010 have come back to haunt local football leaders.
Senator Chief Mvimbi Matse has questioned the ministry of sports, culture and youth affairs why, 15 years after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the country still did not have a stadium capable of hosting major continental games while neighbouring Mozambique built one with similar funding.
Speaking during the ministry of sports, culture and youth affairs’ first-quarter performance report for 2025/26 yesterday, Chief Matse said the country had been misled for too long on the progress at Somhlolo National Stadium. Despite tens of millions of Emalangeni being pumped into its renovations, Eswatini’s national team and CAF club representatives continue to rent stadiums outside the country.
Matse demanded that the ministry investigated what happened to the 2010 FIFA grants that were intended to uplift football infrastructure across the continent. He reminded the House that Mozambique managed to build a stadium of international standard from the same FIFA funding programme yet in the country the dream of an approved stadium remained unfulfilled.
The senator also blamed the sports officials who cling to one position for many years. He asked why the leaders were not changed yet the country was not getting any good results especially in CAF and FIFA competitions.
For Matse, this was not simply about infrastructure, it was about decades of missed opportunities and chronic failure to prepare the country’s teams for CAF competitions. He said it was humiliating that local clubs entered international tournaments unprepared, only to be beaten home and away, while administrators held on to their positions year after year without producing results.
The senator also called for accountability on allowances for players, saying athletes should receive their payments before leaving for international duty, not after returning demoralised.
Other senators, including Vice-Chairperson Ndumiso Mdluli echoed Matse’s frustration, urging the ministry to clarify whether the current E32 million investment in Somhlolo would finally deliver a stadium that met CAF standards. Mdluli questioned whether FIFA inspectors had given any indication if the stadium would pass.
When responding, Minister Bongani Nzima urged patience, saying a final report from CAF inspectors was expected this week. He attributed the delays to government’s incremental funding of the project, insisting that every year they receive less than requested. The country through Eswatini Football Association (EFA) is set to benefit hugely under the FIFA Forward Development Programme that is set to inject about E144 million through to 2026.
This will be the third cycle of the FIFA Forward Development Programme which will provide each member association with up to USD 8 million (about E144 million) through to 2026, which is seven times more than they received when the initiative was established in 2016.
Eswatini used part of the money received in 2016 by constructing the Technical Centres being Lobamba, Ka-Langa and Mkhuzweni while one is yet to be constructed under the Manzini region. The fees were also used in the refurbishment of the King Sobhuza II Memorial Stadium and EFA Headquarters, Sigwaca House among other projects.
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