COSAFA, LA LIGA FORMALISE PARTNERSHIP

Two U-17 girls from COSAFA earmarked for understudy tour to Spain

COSAFA’s continued evolution as a leader in the development of football on and off the pitch in the Southern African region has resulted in the organisation signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Spain’s La Liga, ensuring a steady stream of activities in the coming years that will benefit the growth of the game.

COSAFA and La Liga have joined forces in the past to put on a variety of events to the benefit of aspiring footballers, but the MOU formalises their partnership and will soon see conferences and workshops on corporate governance and sport management across the region.

Other aspects will include commercial and marketing activities, match organisation, security, international communication and digital strategies.

But the first initiative will see two players at the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Spain in early 2021, where they will be able observe training sessions at elite clubs, learn the football culture and possibly take in a La Liga fixture.

The players will be chosen by the Technical Study Group at the tournament, which ends today with the final between Zambia and East African guest nation Tanzania at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

“This experience will be much more than just taking in the sights and sounds of Spain, it will show the two girls what it takes to be a professional player overseas,” says COSAFA General Secretary Sue Destombes.

Destombes also thanked La Liga for their continued support for Southern African football.

Marcos Pelegrin, who is the La Liga Managing Director for

Southern Africa, says the trip to

Spain for the two players is just the start.

- COSAFA.