{"id":42888,"date":"2024-02-01T17:12:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T17:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?p=42888"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:29:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T15:29:25","slug":"eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","title":{"rendered":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was also known as \u2018Mgababa\u2019. The legendary Masangane reportedly passed away on Monday afternoon, succumbing to an illness while receiving medical attention on transit to the Mbabane Government Hospital from Manzini. The sad news was confirmed by a close relative, who said the 46-year-old celebrated soccer legend, who played for Mbabane Highlanders as well as South Africa\u2019s Black Leopards at the beginning of the millennium, died after being ill. \u2018Ndezi\u2019 was also part of the Sihlangu squad, which made history by beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in their backyard in the then Castle Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) Cup quarter-final on May 5, 2002. \u201cYes it\u2019s true that Bongani is no more,\u201d the distraught close family member who was said to be a brother to the deceased briefly said.<\/b><\/p>\n

His teammate at Black Leopards and Sihlangu Wonder \u2018Samba Jive\u2019 Nhleko said he had lost a brother as they played together for a long time. \u201cIt\u2019s really bad news; he was like a brother to me and we spent the better part of our careers playing together. I am heartbroken,\u201d the former Mbabane Swallows winger said. Former Mbabane Highlanders and Sihlangu playmaker Celumusa \u2018Sis Monica\u2019 Vilakati said he was shocked by the sad news as he used to spend weekends with him and he never showed any signs of illness, the last time he was with him was last weekend.<\/p>\n

Believe<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI still don\u2019t believe that he is gone, I was with him while I was from Mavuso Sports Centre to watch Highlanders and Moneni. It sounds like a bad dream and someone will wake me up to tell me that it is not true,\u201d Vilakati said. He said the country had lost a legend in Masangane, he then sent his heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the entire nation on his passing. Another legend, who was shocked by the sudden death of \u2018Mgababa\u2019 was former Sihlangu and Inkunzi Emnyama Captain Mlungisi \u2018Madzala\u2019 Ngubane, who said he was touched by what befell Masangane, as they played together for a long time. \u201cWe have lost a brother; we played together at both Highlanders and Sihlangu. We were part of the Sihlangu team which beat Zimbabwe. He has played his part by representing the country well until he retired,\u201d Ngubane said. The former Mbabane Swallows skipper hoped that God would comfort all those affected by the passing of Masangane.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, former Manzini Wanderers legend Mxolisi \u2018Stopper\u2019 Mthethwa also remembered how Masangane was influential in their victory away in Zimbabwe and expressed his shock at the untimely death of the legendary player. \u201cI am shocked but no one dies by mistake, we have lost a true legend. I didn\u2019t hear anything about him about being unwell because I would have gone to visit him. As his friends we are in pain,\u201d Mthethwa said. He then urged his family, friends and the nation at large not to despair as death was part of the human journey. He said Masangane was not just a colleague, but a homeboy as they were from Ludzeludze and he further promised his family that they would come in their numbers as former teammates and friends of the fallen hero, to pay their last respect.<\/p>\n

prominence<\/b><\/p>\n

It is worth mentioning that \u2018Ndezi\u2019 rose to prominence in the country, after his impressive performance during the 2002 Castle COSAFA Cup against Zimbabwe, where his timely tackles left a lasting impression. After almost 15 years as a player, he retired from the sport in 2006. On the other hand, the football community has recently faced a series of devastating tragedies.<\/p>\n

The Sihlangu legend passing is the fourth in the country within a span of three months. On New Year\u2019s Eve, Manzini Wanderers defender Kwanele Dlamini collapsed during a stokvel tournament in Lavumisa and sadly passed away. Last month, Denver Sundowns striker Mukelo Nkambule succumbed to a mysterious illness. Before that, Ubombo Flyers defender, Phumlani Masango, tragically lost his life due to a stabbing incident.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was also known as \u2018Mgababa\u2019. The legendary Masangane reportedly passed away on Monday afternoon, succumbing to an illness while receiving medical attention on transit to the Mbabane Government Hospital from Manzini. The sad news was confirmed by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[234,248,249],"class_list":["post-42888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-eswatini","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019 - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"690\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\"},\"wordCount\":693,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Eswatini\",\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\",\"name\":\"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019 - Eswatini\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg\",\"width\":1230,\"height\":690,\"caption\":\"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\",\"name\":\"Eswatini\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019 - Eswatini","description":"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019","og_description":"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","og_site_name":"Eswatini","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1230,"height":690,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019","datePublished":"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi"},"wordCount":693,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Eswatini","Eswatini"],"articleSection":["all news","sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi","name":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019 - Eswatini","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-01T17:12:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"This best describes the untimely death of former Eswatini international player Bongani \u2018Ndezi\u2019 Masangane, who was als ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2024\/02\/sm_1706788528.808176.jpg","width":1230,"height":690,"caption":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/eswatini-mourns-legend-ndezi#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ESWATINI MOURNS LEGEND \u2018NDEZI\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/","name":"Eswatini","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}