Online Reporter
Noel Munzabwa in HORO, Eswatini
FOR the first time in the history of Zimbabwean football, a club from the local Premier Soccer League have flexed their muscles and beat competition from a South African Premiership club.
Champions Scottland have just beaten Durban City to the signature of highly-rated Eswatini star Kwakhe Thwala.
Mozambican giants Costa do Sol were also angling for the 23-year-old leftback.
His club, Nsingizini Hotspurs, confirmed the transfer on their social media platforms.
“The club has received and accepted an offer from Scottland FC for the permanent transfer of Kwakhe Twala to the champions of Zimbabwe,” the club said in a statement.
“Details of the deal have been finalised and Scottland FC have agreed personal terms with the player.
“Whilst he will be greatly missed in the Nsingizini family, his future comes first and we are very thankful for his contribution to the success of the club.
“We wish him all the best in his new challenge and applaud the professional conduct displayed by Scottland FC in the process of the transfer.”
Thwala arrives with medals and a story that carries weight in Eswatini football.
The versatile left back, who can also play as a wing back or defensive midfielder, is nicknamed “Stopper” and comes from a national team bloodline.
His father, Mxolisi “Stopper” Mtsetfwa, captained Sihlangu for more than six years and built a trophy-laden career with Manzini Wanderers and Royal Leopard.
Thwala has carried his mother’s surname since birth and came through the Young Buffaloes development system, stepping into the senior team as a teenager in the 2020/21 season and quickly looking like a player built for bigger stages.
His next move took him to Mbabane Swallows, where he won the MTN Premier League title in 2023/24 and strengthened his standing in the national set up, even captaining Sihlangu on several occasions, a mark of trust in a squad that doesn’t hand the armband to tourists.
But Swallows’ financial struggles triggered an exodus and Thwala moved again, this time to Nsingizini Hotspurs, and he didn’t just survive the switch, he collected another league title in 2024/25, making it back-to-back championships.
He also arrives as part of a rising Eswatini generation that is starting to believe it belongs beyond local borders.
Ambitious newboys Hardrock have also moved in on Eswatini talent, sealing a deal for Sambulo “Masoso” Simelane.
Eswatini has long supplied South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola and Tanzania with players. The traffic of players and coaches between Zimbabwe and Eswatini was the other way round, with many coming to ply their trade here.
Now, all that is changing.
Scottland are champions and under pressure to defend a title with the whole league hunting them.
Hardrock are new in the Premiership and need legs, goals and personality quickly, not in two seasons’ time.
Their answer has been to look across the border.
Hardrock’s capture of Simelane is a different kind of statement.
He is a forward, still in his early twenties, and he comes with the hunger of a player who has always had to prove himself twice, first in school football, then again in the senior game.
He is not just a footballer.
Simelane competed in professional athletics events under Athletics Eswatini, specialising in the 400m, and that speed shows in his game, the kind of pace that turns one half chance into panic for defenders.
