All eyes shift down south for COSAFA Cup showdown
Published: Wednesday, 26 June 2024
With the football season gradually winding down across the continent, international football will once again take centre stage in Africa, as the Southern African region of the continent kicks off the annual COSAFA Cup in South Africa.
Set to be staged in the coastal city of Gqeberha, the 12-team tournament kicks off on Wednesday, 26 June and is set to run until Sunday, 07 July 2024.
The draw of the annual competition was conducted a few weeks ago, pinning reigning champions, Zambia in an interesting Group B alongside Comoros, Zimbabwe and invitational side, Kenya.
All eyes will be on the tournament hosts, Bafana Bafana when they kick off their campaign in front of an expectant crowd as they chase a sixth COSAFA Cup crown on home soil.
The hosts headline Group A and are joined by Botswana, Eswatini and Mozambique whom they open their campaign with at 16h00 GMT on Wednesday.
The opening match sees Botswana taking on Eswatini at 13h00 GMT.
Fresh from their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations heroics where they historically advanced from the group stages, the Brave Warriors of Namibia are high in confidence.
Namibia are grouped with Angola, Lesotho and Seychelles in an unpredictable Group C that will be difficult to get out of.
The Brave Warriors kick off their campaign on Friday afternoon against Angola.
This year marks the 23rd edition of the regional competition that has proven to be a happy hunting ground for talent for most clubs, with the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns hitman, Peter Shalulile spotted at the tournament a few years ago.
Zambia hold the most titles with 7 COSAFA Cup crowns, followed by Zimbabwe with 6 and South Africa with 5.
