Whenever preparations for this competition are announced, questions are whether the winner will be Zimbabwe or Zambia. So dominant have these two nations been that the presence of other regional powerhouses like Angola and South Africa has not mattered much.
Organisers of the tournament confirmed early this week that Zimbabwe had confirmed participation at the tournament, alongside defending champions Zambia, Mozambique, hosts Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Seychelles, Lesotho and Swaziland, who had all stated their intention to take part in the regional championship labelled by FIFA president Sepp Blatter as the best in the world.
“Only the island nations of Comoros and Mauritius have yet to put their names forward, along with Angola, who are expected to make a decision in the coming days,” said Cosafa media officer, Lynda Greef. “The deadline to confirm participation is April 25. It is also highly likely that there will be guest nations from outside the region taking part to add a pan-African flavour to the tournament, with COSAFA already in negotiations on this score.”
Zambia hosted the last tournament last year, which they also won – beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in the final to record their fourth tournament win, and drawing level with The Warriors at the top of the list for all-time tournament victories. South Africa and Angola, with three wins each, are the only other to nations to have lifted the cup.
Kenya were the guest nation at the last finals in Zambia in 2013 and COSAFA is already “speaking to a couple of countries” from outside the region about participating in Botswana.
Post published in: Football