The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Council of Southern Africa Football Associations is considering having the Cosafa Cup in October, subject to prevailing coronavirus conditions in the region.
In a statement on Monday, Cosafa said the council’s executive has approved several new initiatives, including a revised 2020 calendar for tournaments, with everything hinging the on the existing Covid-19 state of affairs across Southern Africa.
Cosafa are targeting having their core tournament, Cosafa Cup during the Fifa international window in October and the Women’s Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa in the same month.
“The organisation is also exploring the potential of hosting its flagship men’s Cosafa Cup during the October Fifa nternational window, while the senior Cosafa Women’s Championship has also been penciled in for October 19-31 in Nelson Mandela Bay,’’ read part of the statement released by Cosafa.
While there is uncertainty on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on travel and quarantine restrictions in the coming months, the Cosafa leadership has crafted a potential blueprint for hosting competitions if conditions allow across the Cosafa region.
The Under-17 and Under-20 Cosafa Men’s Championships serve as qualifiers for the continental finals to be staged by the Confederation of African Football and as such a priority has been placed on finding a window for these tournaments.
According to Cosafa, the Mauritius Football Association has confirmed they have government approval to host these tournaments in November and December 2020, subject to Covid-19 levels remaining as they are, and strict health protocols being implemented.
The continental finals for the Under-17 age-group are scheduled for Morocco next July, while the Under-20 finals are set for Mauritania at a date that has yet to be determined. Both are highly dependent on prevailing Covid-19 and travel conditions in South Africa at the time.
There is also a plan to overlap the Cosafa Women’s Under-17 Championship (October 15-25) with the senior tournament in South Africa.
The Under-20 Women’s Championship, which was scheduled for the Region 5 Games in Maseru in December, has been cancelled for this year after the Games were postponed to December 2021.
While the 2020 calendar remains uncertain given the unpredictability of the Covid-19 pandemic, Cosafa said there are exciting plans to add as many as three more competitions in 2021, in what will be an incredibly busy time.
Cosafa have applied to host a boys’ Under-15 Championship in conjunction with the Uefa Assist programme, which will be timely with Caf focusing more on this age-group for their own development initiatives.
In addition, Cosafa also created a task team to devise plans for the Regional Women’s Champions League which the organisation hopes to stage for the first-time next year, subject to funding being sourced to support this competition.
@Mdawini_29
