Football’s launchpad of dreams

COSAFA’s growth is reflected by success at continental and global tournaments

THE COUNCIL of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) was established by the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa with the first tournament for senior men staged in 1997.

COSAFA has since grown into the key development vehicle for players, match officials and administrators in the region and this year will stage six tournaments across its various age groups.

Aside from the senior men and women’s competitions, there will also be a national Under-20 competition for men in Zambia in December, while the Under-17 version was played in Mauritius in July.

There is a regional beach soccer competition in the Seychelles next month, and the Region 5 Games, with the football element run by COSAFA, will also feature soccer tournaments for Under-17 boys and Under-20 women.

It is a busy programme, but one that allows for regional development on and off the pitch, with several top current and former players using the platform of these competitions to kick-start their career.

Players who have come through the senior tournament to go on and star are the likes of Teko Modise (South Africa), Benjani Mwaruwari (Zimbabwe), Dipsy Selolwane (Botswana), Tico-Tico (Mozambique), Lehlohonolo Seema (Lesotho) and Manucho (Angola).

The women’s national teams have also been beneficiaries of the development work done by COSAFA, as evidenced by the fact that Africa’s two representatives at the 2016 Olympic Games both came from the region – South Africa and Zimbabwe. More recently, both South Africa and Zambia have qualified for the AFCON Women’s tournament that takes place in November 2018.

This triumph was repeated at the recent U20 Women’s World Cup, where the following referee and assistant referees were appointed for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup: Referee Gladys Lengwe (Zambia) and Assistant Referees Bernadettar Kwimbira (Malawi), Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar) and Queency Victoire (Mauritius).

The COSAFA Cup, once touted by FIFA as the best regional international football competition in