Premier League of Eswatini
Top football division in Eswatini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Premier League of Eswatini, also known as the MTN Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Eswatini Football Association. It consists of 16 teams.
| |
| Founded | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Country | Eswatini |
| Confederation | CAF |
| Number of clubs | 14 teams (24/25) season |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | National First Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | Swazibank Cup, MoMo Cup, Ingwenyama Cup |
| International cup(s) | Champions League Confederation Cup |
| Current champions | Nsingizini Hotspurs (2025–26) |
| Most championships | Mbabane Highlanders (13) |
| Top scorer |  Felix Badenhorst(101 goals) |
| Website | www.pls.co.sz |
| Current: 2025–26 Premier League of Eswatini | |
It was created in 1971. In 2014, the league adopted "Vision 2022" and planned to be a fully professional entity by 2022.[1] However, the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini impacted the 2019–20[2] and 2020–21 seasons.[3]
Previous winners
- 1971 : Milling Hotspurs
- 1972 : Milling Hotspurs
- 1973 : not known
- 1974 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1976 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1977 : Juventus Kvaluseni (Mhlume)
- 1980 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1981 : Mhlume Peacemakers (Mhlume)
- 1982 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1983 : Manzini Wanderers
- 1984 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1985 : Manzini Wanderers
- 1986 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1987 : Manzini Wanderers
- 1988 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1989 : Denver Sundowns (Manzini)
- 1990 : Denver Sundowns (Manzini)
- 1991 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1992 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1993 : Mbabane Swallows
- 1994 : Eleven Men in Flight (Siteki)
- 1995 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1996 : Eleven Men in Flight (Siteki)
- 1997 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 1998 : no championship
- 1998–99 : Manzini Wanderers
- 1999–00 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 2000–01 : Mbabane Highlanders
- 2001–02 : Manzini Wanderers
- 2002–03 : Manzini Wanderers
- 2003–04 : Mhlambanyatsi Rovers
- 2004–05 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2005–06 : Royal Leopards
- 2006–07 : Royal Leopards
- 2007–08 : Royal Leopards
- 2008–09 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2009–10 : Young Buffaloes
- 2010–11 : Green Mamba
- 2011–12 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2012–13 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2013–14 : Royal Leopards
- 2014–15 : Royal Leopards
- 2015–16 : Royal Leopards
- 2016–17 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2017–18 : Mbabane Swallows
- 2018–19 : Green Mamba
- 2019–20 : Young Buffaloes
- 2020–21 : Royal Leopards[4]
- 2021–22 : Royal Leopards
- 2022–23 : Green Mamba
- 2023–24 : Mbabane Swallows[5]
- 2024–25 : Nsingizini Hotspurs[6]
- 2025–26 : Nsingizini Hotspurs[7]
Qualification for CAF competitions
Association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF club season
The association ranking for the 2025–26 CAF Champions League and the 2025–26 CAF Confederation Cup will be based on results from each CAF club competition from 2020–21 to the 2024–25 season.
- Legend
- CL: CAF Champions League
- CC: CAF Confederation Cup
- ≥: Associations points might increase on basis of its clubs performance in 2024–25 CAF club competitions
- Associations ranked 1–12 are eligible to enter two teams in each CAF club competition.
| Rank | Association | 2020–21 (× 1) | 2021–22 (× 2) | 2022–23 (× 3) | 2023–24 (× 4) | 2024–25 (× 5) | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | Mvt | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | CL | CC | ||
| 1 | 1 |  — |  Egypt |
8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 2.5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 190.5 |
| 2 | 2 | — |  Morocco |
4 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 142 |
| 3 | 4 |  +1 |  South Africa |
8 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1.5 | 9 | 3 | 131 |
| 4 | 3 |  -1 |  Algeria |
6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 130 |
| 5 | 6 | +1 |  Tanzania |
3 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 82.5 |
| 6 | 5 | -1 |  Tunisia |
4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0.5 | 82.5 |
| 7 | 8 | +1 |  Angola |
1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 2 | 55 |
| 8 | 7 | -1 |  DR Congo |
4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 |
| 9 | 9 | — |  Sudan |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 41 |
| 10 | 11 | +1 |  Ivory Coast |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 |
| 11 | 10 | -1 |  Libya |
0 | 0.5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 12 | 12 | — |  Nigeria |
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| 13 | 15 | +2 |  Mali |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 18.5 |
| 14 | 14 | — |  Ghana |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | 13 | -2 |  Guinea |
2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 | 19 | +3 |  Botswana |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 8.5 |
| 17 | 21 | +4 |  Senegal |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 18 | 17 | -1 |  Mauritania |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 19 | 18 | -1 |  Congo |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 20 | 16 | -4 |  Cameroon |
0 | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 21 | 22 | +1 |  Togo |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | 22 | — |  Uganda |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | - | new |  Mozambique |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| 24 | 20 | -4 |  Zambia |
0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 25 | 24 | -1 | Eswatini |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 24 | -1 |  Niger |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | 26 | -1 |  Burkina Faso |
0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
Performance by club
| Club | City | Titles | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mbabane Highlanders | Mbabane | 13 | 2000–01 |
| Royal Leopards | Matsapha | 8 | 2021-22 |
| Mbabane Swallows | Mbabane | 8 | 2023–24 |
| Manzini Wanderers | Manzini | 6 | 2002–03 |
| Green Mamba | Matsapha | 3 | 2022–23 |
| Manzini Sundowns (as Denver Sundowns) | Manzini | 2 | 1990 |
| Eleven Men in Flight | Siteki | 2 | 1996 |
| Milling Hotspurs | Manzini | 2 | 1972 |
| Nsingizini Hotspurs | Hluti | 2 | 2025–26 |
| Young Buffaloes | Matsapha | 2 | 2019–20 |
| Juventus Kvaluseni | Mhlume | 1 | 1977 |
| Mhlume Peacemakers | Mhlume | 1 | 1981 |
| Mhlambanyatsi Rovers | Mhlambanyatsi | 1 | 2003–04 |
Top goalscorers
| Season | Top scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Fritz Junior Seilbea | Mbabane Swallows | 13 |
| 2002–03 | Patrick "Nkola" Mkhwanazi | Manzini Wanderers | 13 |
| 2003–04 | Salebona "Salas" Jele | Young Buffaloes | 11 |
| 2004–05 | Mzwandile "Zoo" Mamba | Mbabane Swallows | 12 |
| 2005–06 | Mzwandile "Zoo" Mamba Mduduzi "Aghahowa" Mdluli | Royal Leopards Mbabane Highlanders | 11 |
| 2011–12 | Nhlanhla "Mshengu" Kunene | Malanti Chiefs | 17 |
| 2012–13 | Nhlanhla "Mshengu" Kunene | Malanti Chiefs | 14 |
| 2013–14 | Sandile Hlatshwako | Malanti Chiefs | 14 |
| 2021-22 | Sandile Gamedze |
Young Buffaloes | 23 |
| 2022-23 | Felix Badenhorst |
Mbabane Swallows | 20 |
| 2023-24 | Sabelo Ndzinisa[8] |
Green Mamba | 20 |
| 2024-25 | Sabelo Ndzinisa |
Green Mamba | 18 |
| 2025-26 | Hleliso 'Muah' Gamedze[9] |
Royal Leopards | 18 |
Sponsorship and prize money
As of 2025, the league is sponsored by MTN Eswatini, with a first prize of E1.1 million. This is the fifth highest in the Southern African region.[10]