The Eswatini national badminton team (Swazi: Licembu lebhedminton laseSwatini) represents Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, in international badminton team competitions. It is controlled by the Eswatini Badminton Association.[1]
The Eswatini junior badminton team competed in the African Junior Badminton Championships mixed team event in 2007, where the team finished in 7th place.[2] As of 2022, the national team has been inactive and have not competed in any tournaments since 2007.[3][4][5][6]
Badminton was first introduced to Eswatini in the early 1990s. At the time, the sport was played in schools in Lobamba, Manzini, Ntfonjeni and Kwaluseni. The small popularity of the sport lead to the formation of the Swaziland Badminton Association (later the Eswatini Badminton Association) in the late 1990s.[7]
Eswatini juniors made their first international appearance in badminton when the national association sent their first few players to compete in the 2007 African Junior Badminton Championships in Gaborone, Botswana.[2] The team finished in 7th after being eliminated in the group stages.[8]
The Swazi men's team took part in the 2004 Thomas Cup African qualifiers in Pretoria. The team failed to qualify after finishing on the bottom of the round-robin tie.[9]
Eswatini also sent their women's team to compete in the 2004 Uber Cup African qualifiers. The team suffered the same fate as the men's team, finishing on the bottom of the group.[9]
