TRICKY COSAFA DRAW FOR SITSEBE

MBABANE – Sitsebe have avoided regional heavyweights Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in the COSAFA draw.

A draw for the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Women Championship conducted yesterday saw the Mduduzi ‘Sikhalo’ Nxumalo-led ensemble drawn against Mauritius, Mozambique and East African guest nation, Kenya, in Group B. The tournament will be played in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, from September 13 to 24.

All the Group B teams, except Kenya, who are ranked 118th in the world, were hardly active in international games recently.
Sitsebe, who will be back in the spotlight after several years in the ‘wilderness’, will play their opener against Mauritius at Luveve Stadium on September 14. Kick-off is set for 10:30am. The next two fixtures will be against Mozambique and Kenya between September 16 and 18.

Nxumalo was relieved to avoid tough teams like South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in the first hurdle, saying his team had a good chance of reaching the knockout stage.
“It’s a fair draw.
“We’ll do our best to go through to the semi-finals following vigorous training,” said Nxumalo.
The teams play each other in a round-robin format, with the pool winners and best-placed runner-up advancing to the semi-finals, which will be played on September 21. The final will be played three days later, with the bronze-medal game played a day before.

According to the draw, three-time winners South Africa’s Banyana Banyana, who are ranked 53rd in the world, are in Group C along with neighbours, Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana.
Hosts Zimbabwe have been drawn alongside old rivals, Zambia, Madagascar and Malawi in Group A.
There have been four previous COSAFA Women’s Championships since the first was played in 2002.

With 12 teams competing this year, it is the biggest ever field assembled for the tournament.

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