By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – Former Sihlangu Coach Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga is regarded the most successful coach in the past decade.
The former Minister of Sports Culture and Youth Affairs was on the brink of qualifying for the 2017 Gabon Africa Cup of Nations and he also led Sihlangu to the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) semi-finals held in South Africa, Rustenburg in 2016.
Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Peter ‘Samora’ Simelane said Bulunga successes surpassed almost all the international coaches who once led the national team, including Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba, Kostadin Papic and Jan Van Winckel among others.
Simelane highlighted that Bulunga did a wonderful job while he was leading the team and his team performed better than all the international coaches to grace the country’s football.
EFA is on the process of hiring a new coach and the vacancy is open to both local and international coaches.
Simelane met the media on Monday, where he announced that Dominic Kunene, Ernest Mavuso and Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane were to continue leading the team on a temporary basis while they are on the process of hiring a coach.
The trio will lead the team when its play the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers games against Angola and Mauritius on June 7 and 11 respectively. It is also possible that they lead the team to the COSAFA Cup if the new coach is still not employed.
“The international coaches struggled in leading the national team and I believe the locals have so far done a wonderful job, especially Harries Madze Bulunga. We are hopeful that we are going to secure the right candidate that will bring along the desired results,” he said.
Bulunga then had to quit his football managerial as he was elected Mbabane East Member of Parliament (MP) in 2018 and then he was appointed the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs.
