* Malawi Flames will miss the tournament for the first time since its inception in 1997
* Hosts South Africa are in Group A alongside Mozambique, eSwatini, and Botswana
* Zambia in Group B with Lesotho, Zimbabwe and the guests Kenya, who replaced Malawi
* While Angola, Namibia, Comoros and Seychelles are in Group C
Maravi Express
The 23rd edition of the COSAFA Cup gets underway from tomorrow, June 26 that pits 11 teams from the Council of South African Football Associations(COSAFA) and guest nation Kenya — embarking on a journey for bragging rights and glory.
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Malawi Flames will miss the tournament for the first time since its inception in 1997 but there is always attractive for this Beautiful Game — thus MultiChoice is bringing the top southern African football showpiece closer home through live beaming on GOtv be held in Gqeberha, South Africa from till July 7.
From the three groups, hosts South Africa are in Group A alongside Mozambique, eSwatini, Botswana; Zambia in Group B with Lesotho, Zimbabwe and the guests Kenya, who replaced Malawi, while Angola, Namibia, Comoros and Seychelles are in Group C.
Kenya will be making their second COSAFA Cup appearance having debuted in 2013 when they went out in the group stages and the match between the East African guest against Zambia — the reigning champions and record seven-time winners — is certainly going to be a heavyweight clash.
Kenya will be the fifth highest ranked side at the tournament and COSAFA takes cognizance that the Harambee Stars have made a solid start to their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign with a win and two draws from their four games played.
For the second year in a row, the COSAFA Cup will kick-off with a clash between eSwatini and Botswana, a repeat of last year’s opener where a goal from Lebogang Ditsele helped Botswana to a 1-0 win.
Hosts South Africa will meet Mozambique in the second Group A clash at the same venue — that is sure to be a feisty tie between the neighbours, and a fascinating fixture between two sides who love to attack — as predicted by COSAFA website.
Zimbabwe will return to the prestigious regional showpiece competition for the first time since 2021 and open their Group B campaign against Comoros on June 27.
In Group C will be an encounter between last year’s beaten finalists Lesotho taking on Seychelles while Angola face-off against Namibia at 18h00.
The final round of group games will be played simultaneously with the semifinals scheduled for July 5 while third place and the will both be on July 7.
Reigning champions Zambia
With seven titles to their name, Zambia will also aim to become the first team to win three COSAFA Cup titles in a row in the history of the competition while other nations with impressive titles include Zimbabwe (6), South Africa (5), Angola (3) and Namibia (1).
The competition was launched in 1997 and was held every year until 2009 and after a break, the COSAFA Cup made a comeback in 2013 and has been taking place annually since, except for 2020 because of the CoVID-19 pandemic.
Zambia were the inaugural champions and have gone on to become the most decorated side in the competition with seven titles while South Africa are registering a record by hosting the event for the 7th time in a row.
Madagascar and Mauritius opted not to take part, while Malawi withdrew out of respect of the tragic death of Vice-President Saulos Chilima alongside former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri and seven other — thus COSAFA looking to Kenya to step up and fill Flames’s big shoes as a guest team.
Favorites for the crown?
Being record holders, Zambia are certainly after a third successive triumph, which has never been achieved in the tournament’s history — and they will surely be backing themselves to win the trophy for the 4th time in the space of five editions, making them competition favourites.
But that doesn’t take anything away from Zimbabwe, who are also regarded as possible champions — especially as they have had to sit in the backseat and watch as Zambia overtook them.
South Africa, the hosts should also not be underestimated, and Lesotho and Namibia also have reason to be regarded as proper competition for the trophy. Kenya are looking to make an upset as they are the guests and will hope to give an element of surprise.
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Key players to watch
Zambia has a very young squad — however, they’ve got some highly skilled players in their ranks, who included Egyptian giants, Al Hilal’s Albert Kangwanda as an experienced attacker, who is set to prove dangerous.
Andrew Phiri along with Kelvin Kapumbu are ones to keep an eye on as well while Sekanji Siami is highly regarded as a prodigy with a long career ahead of him and has already shown signs of brilliance at only 18 years old.
Zimbabwe’s squad include players who are based in England in Shane Maroodza (Huddersfield Town) and Marley Tavaziva (Brentford), while forward Takunda Benhura of Ngezi Platinum is a highly-rated prospect as well.
South Africa’s squad also has a number of rising stars who are already well-known in the DStv Premiership for their immense talent, such as Ethan Brooks, Devin Titus, Ashley Cupido, Jaedin Rhodes and Sirgio Kammies.
Kenya have brought a U-23 squad to the tournament, which include overseas-based rising stars such as Amos Wanjala (Nastic Sports Academy, Spain), Josphat Lopaga (Dynamo Brest, Belarus) and George Gitau (Middlesbrough, England) amongst others.
Five reasons to watch the Cosafa Cup on GOtv
1. It’s the “off-season”, but you’ll still get a chance to watch quality football matches from Africa’s rising stars. Who wouldn’t want that?;
2. The competition is notorious for showcasing unknown talent and giving them a platform to shine, so you’ll see first hand which players are destined for greatness;
3. Who doesn’t like a bit of history? The tournament has taken place 22 times, and with Zambia having the chance to make even more, get a chance to see if their rivals won’t stop them in their tracks;
4. The underdogs. Whilst some might take smaller nations Lesotho and Namibia lightly, they’ve shown that they can play with the big boys too. Get a chance to see if they’ll provide an upset;
5. Guest teams. With Kenya participating this time around, that gives the tournament an extra layer of interest. Past guest teams include Senegal, Ghana, DR Congo, Tanzania and Uganda.
So, the fans of the Beautiful Game have it all and the following are the COSAFA Cup 2024 live broadcast details (times CAT):
Tomorrow, Wednesday June 26
* 15:00: eSwatini v Botswana — SuperSport GOtv Select 1 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: South Africa v Mozambique – SuperSport GOtv Select 1 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Thursday June 27
* 15:00: Comoros v Zimbabwe – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Zambia v Kenya – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Friday June 28
* 15:00: Lesotho v Seychelles – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Angola v Namibia – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Saturday June 29
* 12:00: Mozambique v eSwatini – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: South Africa v Botswana – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Sunday June 30
* 12:00: Kenya v Comoros – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Zambia v Zimbabwe – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Monday July 1
* 12:00: Angola v Seychelles – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Namibia v Lesotho – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Tuesday July 2
* 12:00: Comoros v Zambia – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: South Africa v Eswatini – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Wednesday July 3
* 15:00: Lesotho v Angola – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Friday July 5
* 15:00: Semifinal 1 – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 18:00: Semifinal 2 – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
Sunday July 7
* 12:00: Third Place Playoff – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
* 15:00: Final – SuperSport GOtv Select 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
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