Media Officer Lynda Greef said the future of football looked bright in the region, following the African Union Sports Commission Region 5 Youth Games recently played in Bulawayo.
Cosafa has been influential in developing soccer from the grassroots, with some of Zimbabwe’s top players like Tapuwa Kapini, Knowledge Musona, Ovidy Karuru, Lincoln Zvasiya and Patrick Kaunda all having come through the tournament’s ranks to become international stars.
The body also hosts the annual Cosafa Under-20 youth tournament, which has been played in South Africa and Botswana for close to a decade.
As the men’s football tournament drew to a close last weekend, perennial winners Zambia confirmed their status as the best side when they lifted yet another gold medal, following a 3-0 victory over hosts Zimbabwe at Barbourfields Stadium on Sunday.
The Zambians, by far the most impressive side in the games, have always been the most competitive at Cosafa youth games. Some of their graduates were instrumental in their senior national team winning the African Nations Cup in Angola in 2010.
Zambia had scored 16 goals in their four matches coming into the final, conceding just one, and although they found the going tougher against a resilient Zimbabwe side, pulled through with a fine second half performance.
After a goalless first half in which both goalkeepers had work to do, Zambia seized the initiative after the break, scoring their three goals without reply from the hosts. In an earlier match, Namibia had rallied from a goal down to beat Malawi 2-1 and claimed the bronze medal.
Post published in: Football