 | |||
| Full name | Moneni Pirates Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Buccaneers, Bhakajuju | ||
| Founded | 16 September 1967 | ||
| Ground | Mavuso Stadium Manzini, Eswatini | ||
| Capacity | 8 000[ citation needed ] | ||
| Chairman | Osborne Nzima | ||
| League | Premier League of Eswatini | ||
| 2022–2023 | 7th | ||
Moneni Pirates FC is a Eswatinii soccer club based in Manzini. They play in the top division in Swazi football. [1] The team plays in white and black colors.
The club was established by Ngungunyane Matsenjwa, with an aim of bringing together youths of Moneni township in the outskirts of Manzini.
Prior to the club being taken over by Matsenjwa, it was known as The Blue Birds Football Club. In 1967, the club's name changed to Moneni Pirates FC, inspired by Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates. A lot of clubs in Eswatini are named after popular clubs in South Africa. This is because Swazi football fans follow clubs in South Africa, and the local clubs look to export talent to the more professional Premier Soccer League.
The club has been relegated from the highest league in then-Swaziland three times in its history – in the 1998–1999, the 2005–06 seasons and the 2014–15 season. It quickly regained promotion in the elite league on all three occasions of relegation, with the latest happening through a 2nd position finish in the National First Division in the 2016/16 season. It finished the first round of the 2016/17 season in a mid-table position of the Premier League, after it finished the round strongly following a slow start in the league.
In the current season, 2019/20 season, the club has been a revelation, resulting in football pundits comparing it to its yesteryears. At the time of COVID-19 lockdown, the club was placed in position 4 of the MTN League, with a fighting shot to finish 2nd. Time will tell on whether the League will result and finish.
Currently the team plays at the 8,000 capacity Mavuso Stadium in Manzini.[ citation needed ]
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