Clash of dates: COSAFA moves in to delay tourney

Council for Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has said they will move the tournament from 14 June to 25 June in Durban South Africa following the clashing of the dates with World Cup qualifiers.

COSAFA said in a statement released on June 4, the move was aimed at giving member countries, including Malawi a chance to feature their strong teams.

Reads the statement: “After discussions with various stakeholders, we are exploring a new set of dates for the 2024 COSAFA Cup and will provide an update in due course.

The Southern African championship is crucial for the development of teams, players and coaches, and we want to make sure they are able to derive maximum benefit from it.

“The new dates will be in June or July of this year and will be based on the best possible exposure for all stakeholders to ensure a world-class competition that helps take football in the region forward.”

Due to the clash of the dates, some countries such as Malawi which feature strong sides opted to send Under-23 teams with different coaches.

Football Association of Malawi appointed Zimbabwean coach Kallisto Pasuwa, who is gaffer for Malawian club FCB Nyasa Bullets as coach to take charge of the COSAFA team.

This is because the senior coach Patrick Mabedi will be occupied with the senior national team’s world cup qualifiers.

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