BUSY SCHEDULE AHEAD FOR COSAFA

MBABANE – It is yet another bumper year ahead for COSAFA!

COSAFA stands for the Council of Southern African Football Association, which is the football mother body for countries in the Southern part of Africa, including Eswatini. The association, through its Competitions Manager Joshua Knipp, on the COSAFA Show Episode 56, revealed the upcoming tournaments pencilled for the 2023 calendar.

He said 2023 would be another bumper year for Southern African football, as the intention was to host no less than nine tournaments, though highlighting that was dependent on some critical factors. The tournaments would be across multiple age-groups, from school level right up to the flagship COSAFA Cup and COSAFA Women’s Championships. He said this year they would revert to the normal COSAFA calendar, as in 2022 there were disturbed by the number of competitions which were used as qualifiers.

Knipp said they were excited to welcome back the COSAFA Under-20 ladies championships which were missing since 2019. “I think this competition plays a crucial role in the development of the women’s game. We look to start the competition at the end of March into early April and this during the women’s window, that is the factor why we will stage the competition in the period,” Knipp said.

He also said the flagship COSAFA Championship was penned for end of May and beginning of June, before the FIFA international window and it would be a good preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers. This year’s COSAFA Cup, according to the Competitions Manager, would be staged in Durban, South Africa.

Women

He said this year’s COSAFA/Women Champions League Qualifiers, which was won by Green Buffaloes would be played on August 26 down in Durban, as the city has hosted the competition for the past two years. “The women championship which is our flagship competition for women will take place in Port Elizabeth again this year and has been pencilled for September,” he said. Knipp further said the Under-20 Boys Championships which were hosted by the country last year would take place after the 2023 TotalEnergies Under-20 AFCON, which also acts as qualifiers for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

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