Mabedi happy with CosafaCup draw
Flames interim coach Patrick ‘General’ Mabedi says he is happy with this year’s Cosafa Cup draw which has pitted the national football team against neighbours and defending champions Zambia’s Chipolopolo.
The Flames were drawn in Group B which also includes Comoros and Seychelles. The draw was held on Friday in Johannesburg.
In an interview on Friday, the former Flames, Kaizer Chiefs and FCB Nyasa Bullets captain said: “We are up against good teams that will make us work harder, but I am happy with the draw.”
On his part, Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu described it as a tricky group.
He said: “We are renewing our rivalry with Zambia. It’s a tricky group because Comoros are no pushovers. We have to top the group to qualify for the semi-finals.”
Group A has hosts South Africa’s Bafana Bafana, Namibia’s Brave Warriors, e-Swatini’s Sihlangu and Botswana’s Zebras while Group C comprises Mozambique’s Mambas, Angola’s Neglas Palancas and Lesotho’s Likuena.
The top team in each pool will advance to the semi-finals along with the best-placed runner-up, meaning there is little margin for error.
A statement issued by Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) on Friday says Hollywood Bets returns as the sponsor of the tournament as well as the upcoming 2023 Cosafa Women’s Championship and 2023 Cosafa Women’s Champions League.
“We are delighted to be a part of the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup once again. Our partnership has grown since we first formed the relationship in 2019 and we hope to continue nurturing it,” says Indira Albuquerque, Hollywoodbets senior football sponsorship coordinator.
“Our alignment with Cosafa means that we are also aligning with other African countries and specifically those we operate in.
“We enjoy investing in the continent through sports, and to highlight our continuous support in the women’s football space. The 2022 Cosafa Cup was a successful tournament, so we know that 2023 will be even better.”
Cosafa has also announced a second partnership with Joma SA, who have come on board as a technical supplier.
They will be known as official technical supplier to Cosafa for all its competitions.
“Cosafa will also be the exclusive distributer of Joma SA football products in the southern Africa region, excluding Mauritius,” reads the statement in part.
The pool games in Durban will be played from July 5-12, with the semi-finals on July 14 and the final and third-place play-off to be staged at the King Zwelithini Stadium two days later.
It is a departure from the previous format in which there were two groups of four teams and another six sides entered at the quarter-final stage. There will also be no Plate competition this year.
The new 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 days rest between most pool games, a boost for player welfare.
The 21 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.
Zimbabwe and Zambia are locked together on six wins each, with South Africa (five), Angola (three) and Namibia (one) the only other teams to claim regional glory.
Mozambique, Malawi, and Botswana have all been finalists twice, but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. Lesotho (2000) are the only other Cosafa team to reach the decider, with Senegal the first guest nation to do so in 2021.
