Chairman Mpisane notable absentee in Royal AM squad in Eswatini

Royal AM chairman Andile Mpisane is a notable absentee in Mbabane, where the Durban side takes on Mbabane Highlanders on Sunday.

Royal AM face the Eswatini giants in the preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup at the Somhlolo Stadium.

Mpisane recently made his debut for the club when they went down 1-0 to Richards Bay courtesy of Siphelele Magubane’s strike.

However, the 21-year-old is not part of Royal AM’s travelling party to the Eswatini capital.

WHY ANDILE IS NOT PART OF THE TEAM…

“He’s not part of the team. He didn’t travel with the team,” the club’s co-coach Abram Nteo said during the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

The DStv Premiership side got a feel of the artificial turf at Somhlolo on Saturday afternoon.

Royal AM captain Sam Manganyi said the turf would not be an issue when they take on Ezimnyama Ngenkani.

“I’ve played on artificial turf before, and from my experience, I don’t think it’s that difficult,” Manganyi told journalists on Saturday.

Last month, the facility got a reprieve from the Confederation of African Football [CAF]. Until recently, it looked like the game would be played in Nelspruit.

All Eswatini stadiums had been banned from hosting CAF competition matches because they did not meet the standards.

It will be Highlanders’ first competitive match since the end of the league in May.

The hosts finished the 2021/22 season in second place behind Royal Leopards.

The title was decided on the last day of the season, thanks to goals by Lungelo Tsabedze and Junior Magagula in the game against Tambuti.

It was Leopard’s seventh title since the inception of the MTN Premier League in 2001. They had last won the league in the 2015/16 season while still under Tinyosi FC coach Sifiso ‘Nuro’ Ntibane.

Highlanders will be hoping to wrest the title when the season starts at the end of the month.