THE Warriors might have to wait for more than 12 months without tasting competitive action as the staging of the 2014 edition of the Cosafa Cup is now in doubt.
MICHAEL MADYIRA
Following an embarrassing early exit from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] qualifiers, Zimbabwe had at least a chance to shape up at Cosafa which is slated for Botswana from September 13 to 28 with Ghana as guest participants.
But the regional developmental tournament is shrouded in doubt after it was pencilled for a period immediate to the final round of Afcon qualifiers, which start this weekend.
Zambia and South Africa are already guaranteed participation in the fixture-crammed group stages that begin early September and end on October 19.
Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique could get to that stage as well if each manages to proceed past the second round.
Cosafa chief operations officer Sue Destombes told NewsDay Sport last night that they are working on re-arranging days to fit in an undisturbed hosting of the tournament.
“For the moment, the Cosafa tournament has not been cancelled and hopefully it will not. We are working on different possibilities to ensure the tournament goes on. We will have to come up with a workable scenario in the next couple of days,” said Destombes.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“If it is moved, it may be postponed to October. Cosafa is forever bullish that it will take place and we are looking for every positive outcome in the next few days. It is work in progress,” she said.
But Afcon qualifiers would be in full swing in October, while December is traditionally reserved for the Under-17 and 20s of the regional football bloc.
October remains a tricky month tough as the African Women Championships, which also serve as the World Cup qualifiers, will be taking place in Namibia.
Confusion had always rocked this year’s regional tournament after it was initially slated to be staged in Zimbabwe, who failed to get government guarantee. The Zimbabwe government was already committed to hosting the Region 5 Games in Bulawayo and that could have had a strain on budgets. The Cosafa hosting rights were later handed to Botswana, who successfully staged the Africa Youth Games in May.
Cancellation of Cosafa would be a huge blow to the Warriors who are already on self-induced international football isolation.
Then coached by German coach Klaus-Dieter Pagels, the Warriors reached the final of last year’s edition where they lost to hosts Zambia 2-0 in the final at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium.
The bulk of that team had a fair outing at the Africa Nations Championships Chan earlier this year.
But the home-based crop, whose majority under-fire coach Ian Gorowa entrusted with duty for the Afcon qualifiers found that stage too high, resulting into humiliating failure.
If the Warriors are not invited to this year’s West African Football Union Nations Cup like last year (although they failed to fulfill) or the Cecafa Cup, they will have to wait for the 2015 Cosafa as their immediate competitive assignment.
