Times Of Swaziland: BUSY SCHEDULE AHEAD FOR COSAFA

BUSY SCHEDULE AHEAD FOR COSAFA
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Machawe Fakudze on 03/03/2023 08:23:00


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.