COSAFA DRAW TODAY, NO ESWATINI SEEDING

MBABANE – Sihlangu will known their COSAFA Cup opponent today.

The dates have been set for the 2024 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) CUP, which will retain last year’s exciting format, when it is staged in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province from June 26 to July 7, with the group stage draw to be held today at 11am. “The draw will be streamed live on the COSAFA Facebook and YouTube pages,” shared COSAFA. The format will again see 12 teams take part, split into three groups of four sides, with the three pool winners and the best runner-up advancing to the semi-finals.

Seeded

Hosts South Africa, last year’s winners Zambia and Angola, the next best placed side according to the FIFA World Rankings, will be the three seeded teams. Madagascar and Mauritius are the two COSAFA nations who have opted not to compete in 2024. The competition will give vital game-time for players and coaches to teams ahead of the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals that are expected to be staged later this year. The format ensures each country will play a minimum of three games up to a maximum of five over the course of the competition. It also allows for an extra day’s rest between most pool games, a boost for player welfare.

Folklore

The 22 previous editions of the COSAFA Cup have seen some great performances and incredible games that have been written into the folklore of Southern African football, but only five nations can claim to have lifted the coveted trophy. Zambia went back-to-back in 2023 and now sit along at the top of the list of most titles with seven. Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and Lesotho have all been finalists twice, but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. Guest nation Senegal is the only other national to reach the decider, but lost to South Africa in 2021.

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