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Noel Munzabwa
TWO of multiple Zimbabwe sporting legends, Benjani Mwaruwari and Thabitha Tsatsa, descended on Eswatini last weekend for two unrelated businesses.
For the South Africa-based veteran queen of the road, Tsatsa it is now almost an open secret that each time she crosses the Oshoek Ngwenya Border inwards, hearts tremble, bodies shiver and voices quiver as she adds stiff competition to her usual ultra marathon business in this country.
As usual, she came, she saw and ran on Saturday morning finishing second in the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Forces Wafa Wafa half marathon in a time of one hour thirty three minutes, behind South African Xolisile Madida.
Tsatsa was, however, the best finishing veteran and truly the marathon is now her hobby and the road is her playfield as she now endures time, running sometimes even for fun.
She has bagged a couple of races including a consecutive historic Imbube Marathon hat-trick.
On the football side, former Portsmouth and Manchester City striker Mwaruwari jetted in through King Mswati III International Airport on Friday for the first ever Eswatini Open Football Trials at the weekend.
The two weeks first edition is being organised by the Australia-based global marketing firm Professional Soccer Management in collaboration with the Eswatini Football Association and Mwaruwari was on Monday joined by former Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue.
Eboue, who is now an African scout for top Turkish side Galatasaray, will be joined by other European clubs’ representatives from countries that include Belgium and France during the trials to be conducted over 10 days across the country’s four regions.
The trials will be staged under the “Be the next African soccer star” banner and the ultimate goal of this exercise is to take the players who will pass the trials to Europe to benefit Sihlangu in future following a partnership with the Eswatini Football Association (EFA).
PSM has partnered clubs that include AEK Athens (Greece), BC Zagiris (Lithuania), Arsenal (England), Anderlecht (Belgium), Galatasaray, Buluspor, Alanyaspor (all Turkey) and Ajax Amsterdam (Holland).
@NoelMunzabwa
Online Reporter