King Mswati III has announced the construction of a 50,000-seat national stadium, with a provision to be included in the next budget, according to the Times of Eswatini. The venue is meant to allow the Eswatini national team to target qualification for AFCON and the World Cup.
King Mswati III has announced the construction of a 50,000-seat national stadium built to international standards, the Times of Eswatini reports. Finance Minister Neal Rijkenberg will have to include a provision for the project in the next national budget.
The project is only at its very beginnings. The provision has not yet been entered, construction has not started, and designers have already been contacted for the project, according to the newspaper.
From 40,000 to 50,000 seats
The project is more ambitious than the one mentioned at the final of the 2025/26 Ingwenyama Cup, where the king had ordered a 40,000-seat stadium. The figure has therefore risen to 50,000, 10,000 seats more.
The reason lies in the state of the current facilities: according to the Times of Eswatini, the Somhlolo National Stadium can no longer hold the crowds of the big matches. The new venue is therefore meant to cope with mass events.
“I want to inform the nation that the country has made progress on the stadium issue, because it requires planning, which is very important to prepare the finances. We are working on it and soon you will have good news about the stadium,” the king said, as quoted by the newspaper.
Funding from three sources
The financing package will combine the national budget, development partners and private investors, according to the Times of Eswatini. The entry of the provision by Neal Rijkenberg will be the first concrete milestone of the project.
The king is drawing on his experience of major competitions. He has attended AFCON and the World Cup, where he noticed stadiums that generally hold 100,000 people. “I have attended AFCON and the World Cup and I noticed that these stadiums generally hold 100,000 people. As we are at the beginning, we will build half of those stadiums,” he explains.
Targeting AFCON and the World Cup
The stated goal goes beyond spectators’ comfort alone: the sovereign wants a venue that will allow the Eswatini national team to target qualification for AFCON and for the FIFA World Cup, according to the newspaper.
On the club side, Nsingizini Hotspurs beat Green Mamba 1-0 in the Ingwenyama Cup, thanks to a goal from Ayanda Gadlela, who has since been transferred to Royal Leopard.
The construction of the 50,000-seat stadium, for its part, has not yet started: it is waiting for the provision to be entered in the next national budget.