2016 Namibia COSAFA CASTLE CUP FLAGS OFF
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By John Dino Banda
The 16th Edition of the Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) kicked off yesterday in the Namibia’s capital Windhoek, reports Pan African Radio Entertainment and Sports Journalist John Dino Banda.
The tournament that has attracted a lot of fans within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, viewed as a soccer talent development platform on which lucrative leagues in Europe can scout talented players.
The competition started in 1997, and saw Zambia winning the first edition, has seen a format in which again only two groups- namely Group A consisting of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Madagascar and Seychelles while Group B includes Angola, Malawi, Lesotho and Mauritius.
The giants of the SADC region namely- Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, the defending champions Namibia and Guest team, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will join at the quarter final stage as per traditional.
Meanwhile, in yesterday’s opening fixture, Swaziland almost caused an upset against Southern Africa’s only representative at the 2017 Gabon African Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals, Zimbabwe when they took the bull by its horn forcing a 2 all draw.
In a game which Zimbabwe coach Caristol Pasuwa fielded a second string team, as key players rested, risked making Swaziland a better competitor as the Robert Mugabe lads from Harare had to level the scoreboard twice.
Zambian Breweries, corporate sponsors of the 2016 COSAFA tournament, held an opening Match Screening at Lusaka’s Chris Corner Bar in Lusaka’s Chilenje Township, treating soccer enthusiasts and patrons to great entertainment.
The show saw a lot of fans going away with various castle branded products as token of appreciation, with a Zambia Breweries representative , ‘Mr. Thomas’ pledging his company’s association COSAFA and global football federations beyond the SADC region.
