COSAFA sets Tourney dates
Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has announced that its Senior Challenge Cup will be held from October 2 to 17 in Durban, South Africa.
The announcement follows a meeting the regional football governing body’s competitions and technical committees held last Friday in South Africa to determine the dates.
Cosafa deputy chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda confirmed the development in an interview yesterday.
“Tentatively, October 2 to 17 are the dates for the 2020 Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup in Durban,” he said.
However, Nyirenda said the dates will largely depend on the reopening of borders in South Africa and member associations due to Covid-19 pandemic precautionary measures.
“Of course, we will be waiting to hear from the South Africa government on when the borders will be opened. But these are the tentative dates,” he said.
Cosafa has since written to member associations to indicate the status of their participation in the regional football showcase.
“The circular was sent to the FAs [football associations] last week,” said Nyirenda, a Malawian.
Member associations are also expected to pay a participation fee of $35 000 dollars (about K26.5 million).
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) general secretary Alfred Gunda said the Cosafa Cup will be a good platform to prepare for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers scheduled for November.
“The three or four games [at Cosafa Cup] would be ideal for the team to prepare for the back-to-back Afcon qualifiers against Burkina Faso.
“We are just keeping our fingers crossed on the decision. Otherwise, we have a roadmap ready to be implemented once a decision is made,” he said.
However, FAM will have to wait for government’s decision on the resumption of football before confirming Malawi’s participation.
Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama last week said the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 will make a decision on sports restart on Thursday.
FAM has lined up national team camping protocols to be followed when the team regroups.
The protocols include testing of players and technical staff before going into isolation for six weeks, according to FAM Covid-19 Task Force chairperson Chimango Munthali.
