* All the teams in our group are strong and have been doing well. It gives each of the four teams a genuine chance to qualify for the semi-finals
* The COSAFA Cup comes on the backdrop of the Flames missing out from their first-ever qualification of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals
* Having given away a crucial 1-0 lead at home in the last round of qualifiers to lose 0-2 away and 1-2 on aggregate against South Africa
By Duncan Mlanjira
Assistant coach Peter Mponda believes that being drawn alongside Namibia, Lesotho and defending champions Angola at COSAFA Cup 2025 championship — to be held from June 4–15 in Mangaung, South Africa — is fair draw for the Flames.
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He is quoted by Fam.mw as saying: “All the teams in our group are strong and have been doing well. It gives each of the four teams a genuine chance to qualify for the semi-finals.”
He probably is right taking into consideration that the Flames’s domestic league players are active and dominant members of the senior team. However, the squad bitterly disappointed after giving away a crucial 1-0 lead at home to lose 0-2 away and 1-2 on aggregate against South Africa in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals — losing from their first-ever qualification.
They dated South Africa after a dominant 2-0 home and away results qualifying the next stage on 4-0 aggregate and ahead of the last qualifying round, Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki even acknowledged that the Flames were stronger than their traveling squad to Malawi.
In the second leg, Ntseki reinforced his squad with players who did not release their best arsenal as they had important domestic league assignments.
The COSAFA Cup is taken seriously by all participating nations, which Mponda and his head coach, Kalisto Pasuwa should be wary of against Group B opponents, Angola, Namibia and Lesotho.
The Flames are making a return to the competition after missing the 2024 edition due to the tragic passing of Malawi’s Vice-President, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima.
Video assistant referee (VAR) technology will be used in all the COSAFA Cup games as announced by COSAFA Executive Director, Sue Destombes, at the draw for the regional football competition.
“This tournament is the first that we will use VAR from start to finish,” she is quoted as saying by COSAFA Media. “We started in 2023 with the COSAFA Women’s Championship, but this is the first tournament we will be using VAR from start to finish.”
Destombes further said it is expected that the 14-team tournament, just like previous ones, will leave a lasting legacy in the host town of Bloemfontein.
“It is also about the off the field of play, giving back to the communities hosting us through legacy programmes such as coaching, sports administration and management courses, under-15 grassroots football and outreach programmes. We are looking forward to being here,” Destombes is quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) is reportedly planning to field a developmental squad made up of players aged 23 and under for the COSAFA Cup, according to news.pindula.co.zw/
This approach, says the publication, “wouldn’t be new, as several nations, including hosts South Africa, have previously used the COSAFA Cup as a platform to identify and nurture young talent for their senior national teams”.
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“Zimbabwe’s Under-20 coach, Simon Marange, is expected to lead the young squad at COSAFA, as head coach Michael Nees and his assistant Takesure Chiragwi will be with the senior Warriors side in Casablanca, Morocco.
“The national team will be playing international friendlies against Niger and Burkina Faso during the same period,” said the publication, adding that Zimbabwe are set to face Niger on June 6, followed by a match against the Stallions on June 10 — both falling within the FIFA international window.
The following are statistics compiled by COSAFA Media ahead of the tournament that is surely going to be another thrilling championship:
1 – Namibia’s triumph at the 2015 COSAFA Cup was their first in the competition and made them the 5th country to lift the title in all. There are still only five previous winners. They could not add to that tally in 2022 as they narrowly lost 1-0 to Zambia after extra-time in the final. They also hosted the tournament for the first time in 2016.
3 – Mozambique (1997, 2009 & 2024) are the only side to have finished third three times. They also have two silvers to their name in 2008 and 2015, but never gold!
3 – Lesotho reached the COSAFA Cup semifinals for three tournaments in a row between 2017 and 2019 but come up short on each occasion. They finally broke that duck when they made a second final in 2023, losing to Zambia 1-0 in the decider. They finished third in 2018, and fourth in 2017 and 2019. They also reached the final in 2000 but lost both legs 3-0 to Zimbabwe and await their maiden trophy win.
4 – South Africa lifted the now defunct Plate trophy the most times having done so three years in a row between 2017 and 2019, and then again in 2022. They finally got their hands on the real thing again when they lifted the main trophy in 2021, their fifth title win. There is no longer a Plate competition with a change in format of the competition.
4 – The most goals scored by a player in a single COSAFA Cup match by Seychelles striker Phillip Zialor in their 7-0 win over Mauritius in 2008.
4 – Zimbabwe’s Sunday Chidzambwa, who was given Lifetime Achievement recognition at the 2024 COSAFA Awards, is the most successful coach in COSAFA Cup history with four titles, won in 2003, 2009, 2017 and 2018. He has never been beaten outright in a COSAFA Cup match, having coached in 19 games.
5 – eSwatini have been to the semifinals of the COSAFA Cup on five occasions (1999, 2002, 2003, 2016 & 2021), but have yet to reach the final. They are one of five COSAFA sides never to have appeared in the decider along with the island nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Comoros.
6 – The disproportionately high number of own goals scored in Malawi’s favour in their COSAFA Cup history, three times by Angola (Moises, Fernando & Ito), once by Zimbabwe (Nyamupanedengu), one from Zambia (Katebe) and once by Namibia (Tjihero). Malawi return to the competition this year having not competed in 2024.
6 – The number of goals scored by Zimbabwe forward Ovidy Karuru at the 2017 COSAFA Cup, which saw him finish as top-scorer at the tournament and also claim the record for the most goals in a single competition.
6 – The number of guest nations that have appeared at the COSAFA Cup in the past. Tanzania lead the way with three appearances (1997, 2015 & 2018) and Senegal (2021, 2022) and Kenya (2013, 2024) have two, while Ghana (2015), DR Congo (2016) and Uganda (2019) have also appeared. Morocco will make their debut in 2025. The Senegalese have the best finish after they were runners-up in 2021 and also finished third in 2022.
6 – The number of teams that have appeared in every edition of the COSAFA Cup since it was first played in 1997 – Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia.
7 – The record number of COSAFA Cup titles won by Zambia. Next on the list is Zimbabwe with six wins. Zambia have also finished runners-up on six occasions, more than any other nation. Four of those runners-up medals came between 2004 and 2009, before they also picked up a silver medal in 2017 and 2018.
7 – The Seychelles stunned Mauritius 7-0 in the 2008 COSAFA Cup, which remains to this day the biggest ever margin of victory in the competition. It also remains the only ever victory for the island nation in the competition, having played 34 games so far! They will sit out the 2025 tournament.
9 – The number of goals scored in the COSAFA Cup by eSwatini forward Felix Badenhorst. It is the most in the competition’s history and one more than Zimbabwe legend Peter Ndlovu.
11 – There have been 11 hat-tricks in the history of the COSAFA Cup, with no player able to score more than one. The last three of those hat-tricks have all come against Lesotho, including two in 2021.
12 – The number of matches it took before Zambia finally lost a COSAFA Cup match. The team won the first two competitions and were eventually beaten 1-0 by Angola in 1999.
14 – There will be 14 teams at the 2025 competition – Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, eSwatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe
16 – Zambia have reached the semifinals of the COSAFA Cup on the most occasions (16) and have made it through to the deciding match in 13 of those. Zimbabwe are the next moist frequent semifinalists with 11 appearances.
17 – Zimbabwe’s 2-0 loss to Namibia in 2021 ended a 17-game unbeaten run in the competition, the longest in COSAFA Cup history. The irony? Their previous defeat was also against Namibia in a surprise 4-1 loss 2015.
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40 – The number of wins managed by Zimbabwe in their COSAFA Cup history, more than any other country.
73 – The number of matches played by Zambia in the history of the COSAFA Cup, the most by any side.
113 – The number of goals scored by Zimbabwe in the history of the COSAFA Cup, the most by any side.
1997 – The first year the tournament was staged, with Zambia ending as inaugural winners.
2008 – The year South Africa completed a notable feat – winning back-to-back COSAFA Cup titles. Only inaugural winners Zambia (1997 & 1998) and Zimbabwe (2017 & 2018) have managed to do the same, though it seems it happens a decade apart with South Africa in 2007 & 2008.
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