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NewsDay

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Cosafa launches 2016 tournament

Sport
THE Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) 2016 tournament was officially launched on Tuesday in Windhoek, Namibia — the venue of the regional soccer showpiece.

THE Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) 2016 tournament was officially launched on Tuesday in Windhoek, Namibia — the venue of the regional soccer showpiece.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

The tournament, to be staged in May next year, also sees the return of Castle Lager as title sponsor.

The championship, organised by Cosafa in conjunction with the Namibia Football Association (NFA), will be staged from May 15-29 and will be hosted at two venues in Windhoek — Sam Nujoma Stadium and Independence Stadium.

It will feature the best of Southern Africa’s emerging talent with Namibia seeking to defend the title they won in South Africa earlier this year.

But Zimbabwe and Zambia remain the powerhouses in the region having won the tournament a record four times each.

The tournament was inaugurated in 1997 with Zambia lifting the title. They won it again in 1998, then in 2006 and 2013.

Zimbabwe were winners in 2000, 2003, 2005 and also lifted it on home soil in 2009 under the guidance of Sunday Chidzambwa when they beat neighbours Zambia 3-1. The two countries will be looking to continue with their fine performance in the tournament in Namibia next year.

“We at Castle Lager are once again proud to announce our renewed sponsorship of the Cosafa Castle Cup for a further five-year period,” says Alastair Hewitt, general manager of Castle Lager-Africa at SABMiller. “The duration of our sponsorships and the integral role that we play in developing our future sporting stars on the continent of Africa is unrivalled and shows our true commitment to the people of Africa and their passion for the ‘Beautiful Game’.

“The tournament provides Castle Lager with the opportunity to unite the nations of Southern Africa as the 14 countries of the region come together in Namibia in 2016 to compete in the tournament.”