Zebras seeded for COSAFA Cup
Mqondisi Dube | Friday May 3, 2019 12:15
The regional tournament will retain the same format as in previous editions, where the eight lowest ranked sides are involved in the group stages, while the topsides join at the quarterfinal stage.
Defending champions Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, guests, Uganda, Zambia are the seeded nations and will be involved from the quarterfinal level.
The top two teams from the two groups will join the six seeded sides to make the eight nations for the quarterfinals.
The four quarterfinal winners advance to the semi-finals, while the losing teams will drop into the plate competition.
Botswana was involved in the group stages last year and emerged as winners, ahead of favourites, Angola and Malawi.
The Zebras came unstuck in the semifinals, losing 3-1 to Zimbabwe on penalties after a 1-1 deadlock in regulation time.
The then David Bright side lost the plate semi-final 3-0 to South Africa.
This year, Mogomotsi ‘Teenage’ Mpote will lead the team in Durban as he seeks to make an impression while the Botswana Football Association hunts for a substantive coach.
The Zebras’ best finish in the COSAFA Cup was reaching the finals in Namibia in 2016, where they narrowly lost 3-2 to South Africa. Then, Peter Butler was in charge of the team.
For this year’s tournament, Madagascar is the only one of the 14 COSAFA countries, which will not be participating, their place being taken up by Uganda.
Uganda has qualified for the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt in June, and will use the tournament to fine tune preparations. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe has been fined $50,000 and is conditionally suspended from taking part in the COSAFA Cup after failing to host the 2019 edition.
Zimbabwe failed to get government guarantee and was forced to pull out at the last minute, leaving COSAFA to scramble for a replacement. The country will be able to participate if it can guarantee that it will host next year’s tournament.