The 22nd edition of the COSAFA Cup kicks off on 5 July in Durban, South Africa, and runs until 16 July. Defending champions Zambia, who have won the competition a record six times, will once again be among the favourites.
Zambia's title is on the line again at the COSAFA Cup
For the sixth consecutive year, the COSAFA Cup, which is reserved for southern African teams, will be held in South Africa. And as in 2022, it will be played in and around Durban. Three stadiums have been selected to host the twelve participating teams: King Zwelithini Stadium (10,000 seats), which will host the final, Chtasworth Stadium (22,000 seats) and Princess Magogo Stadium, located in KwaMashu (12,000 seats), a township in Durban.
The choice of South Africa is anything but a coincidence: the richest and most developed country on the continent has all the infrastructure (sports, hotels, health, transport and communications) needed to organise a competition, which is not the case for the other countries, whose federations are affiliated to COSAFA.
No other selection invited
And unlike previous years, no other non-COSAFA selection has been invited, as was the case for Tanzania (2015, 2017), DR Congo (2016), Uganda (2019) and Senegal (2021 and 2022). This competition, which almost exclusively involves local teams or players based in Africa, since the COSAFA Cup is not included in the FIFA dates. For the Seychelles and Mauritius, it will provide an opportunity to prepare for the IOC Games and, more generally, to test their qualification for the 2024 African Nations Championship. Zambia, the defending champions, will be among the favourites, along with South Africa and Angola, while Mozambique and Namibia will be among the outsiders.
The schedule
Group A
5th July
Eswatini - Botswana
South Africa - Namibia
8 July
South Africa - Botswana
Namibia - Eswatini
11th July
South Africa - Eswatini
Botswana - Namibia
Group B
6th July
Seychelles - Comoros
Zambia - Malawi
9th July
Zambia - Comoros
Malawi - Seychelles
11th July
Malawi - Comoros
Zambia - Seychelles
Group C
7th July
Mauritius - Lesotho
Angola - Mozambique
10th July
Angola - Mauritius
Mozambique - Lesotho
12th July
Mozambique - Mauritius
Angola - Lesotho
Semi-finals on 14 July, final and third-place play-off on 16 July
