Online Reporter
Tinashe Mukono and Semai Danha
ZIMBABWE has long been one of Southern Africa’s biggest exporters of football talent.
This season, something unexpected has happened.
Six players developed in neighbouring Eswatini are helping shape the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League (PSL) title race, raising an uncomfortable question.
How is a country of just over 1,2 million producing players ready to thrive in Zimbabwe, while the local game continues searching for answers at home?
For years, Eswatini football has been dismissed by some as a “farmers’ league”.
Former Nsingizini Hotspurs coach Alexio Sigion has heard those remarks before.
“People have said a lot of unflattering things about Eswatini football and coaching, but trust me, there is talent there,” he said. “There are players eager to showcase their ability, who perhaps lacked exposure.
“Now, the exposure is there and the quality is evident. You can see it in how these players are performing.”
Week after week, the evidence has been impossible to ignore.
Hardrock’s Neliswa Dlamini and Sambulo Simelane, Scottland’s Kwakhe Thwala and AGAMA defender Newman Philiso have not arrived merely to fill foreign player slots.
They have become some of the league’s most influential performers.
Behind many of those names is Sigion, the Zimbabwean coach who helped build the environment that produced them.
He believes their rise is not about individual brilliance alone, but about a football philosophy built on development, continuity and preparation.
“It is funny how things turned out because when I went there, together with another Zimbabwean, Promise Mandidzidze, the strength and conditioning coach, we faced jibes from some sections back home,” said Sigion.
“However, we trusted the process and time is the true equaliser and testimony of the work we did.
“It was a fabulous run. We got to participate in the CAF Confederation Cup with Tiger Dlamini and (Thubelihle) Mavuso. We saw quality in them and achieved good results week after week. Even though we were knocked out by Stellenbosch, the exposure did us good and now you can see how things have turned out.”
The emergence of Eswatini’s contingent has become one of the stories of the PSL season.
While Zimbabwean footballers have traditionally looked beyond the country’s borders for better opportunities, Zimbabwe has quietly become an attractive destination for talent from across the region.
Last season, Malawian goalkeeper William Thole forced his way into the Soccer Stars calendar, while compatriots Gomezgani Chirwa and Nickson Nyasulu also impressed.
Joseph Kamwendo of Malawi remains the only foreign player to win the Soccer Star of the Year award. He claimed the honour in 2005.
This year the spotlight has shifted to Eswatini.
Dlamini’s stunning strike in Hardrock’s 4-0 victory over ZPC Kariba reminded everyone of his quality, but spectacular goals tell only part of the story.
Together with Simelane, he has been central to Hardrock’s title challenge.
Thwala has become one of Scottland’s most reliable performers, while Philiso has played a key role in AGAMA’s battle for survival.
All the four footballers were at clubs where coaching and player development were treated as long-term projects rather than short-term fixes.
For Sigion, none of this has come as a surprise.
When he arrived at Nsingizini alongside Mandidzidze, they inherited a club with ambition, but little regional profile.
Their task extended beyond winning matches. They were building a football culture centred on development, continuity and high standards.
“When I first got there, the plan was to make a relatively anonymous team the most popular club in Eswatini and establish a footprint across Southern Africa,” said Sigion.
“The team was not at that stage yet and we had to go on a recruitment drive with the support of the club president, Derrick Shiba.
“I spoke with the club president about the squad I needed to compete. We offloaded some players and brought in about 10 beasts that you are now obviously familiar with.”
Among the first arrivals was Dlamini, Sigion’s first signing, followed by Mavuso and later Thwala.
But recruitment was only the starting point.
Players entered an environment built around demanding training standards, shared coaching principles and continuity between the development structures and the senior team.
The approach produced an unbeaten domestic season, continental qualification and, years later, players capable of stepping seamlessly into Zimbabwean football.
“We worked collectively between the senior team and development structures, from training to nutrition and everything in between, so there was continuity,” said Sigion.
“I used to bring five or six development players to train with us regularly and I am happy many of them are now part of the senior setup.”
Those words explain the story better than any statistic.
The success of Eswatini’s players in Zimbabwe did not begin when they crossed the border.
It began years earlier in a club that invested in development, trusted its processes and prepared players long before bigger opportunities arrived.
Sigion’s coaching philosophy was shaped during his time under Norman Mapeza at FC Platinum.
“Remember, I once coached at FC Platinum under Norman Mapeza and learnt a lot about intensity,” he said. “Those are some of the principles we adopted in Eswatini and when the switch to the PSL happened, it became easier for the players to adapt.”
The results are now visible across Zimbabwe’s top-flight, where Dlamini, Simelane, Thwala and Philiso have become central figures for their respective clubs.
Nsingizini also announced itself on the continental stage by eliminating 2024 Zimbabwean champions Simba Bhora in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
For Sigion, that success reflected years of planning.
“It was a privilege to sign those players with the road map and vision of the club president,” he said. “He wanted Nsingizini to become the biggest club in the country and challenge the traditional giants. There was a deliberate strategy behind everything.”
At the club, young players were being prepared for the next level.
“I’m sure that progression is another milestone and achievement because a player like Khumalo was Player of the Season in Eswatini and man of the match in many games. I am thrilled because these are some of the fruits of the work we invested in,” said Sigion.
The Eswatini story is not really about foreign players succeeding in Zimbabwe; it is about what deliberate planning, patience and strong development structures can achieve.
