10 December 2018 – The COSAFA Under-20 Championship final will now be played on 13 December 2018 instead of the 14th as initially planned, COSAFA’s Secretary General Sue Destombes revealed on Sunday.
The match will still Kick-off at 15h30 at Nkana Stadium.
Destombes explained that this decision comes after the release of the 2018/19 first round CAF Champions League qualifying round fixtures which saw Nkana FC confirming to CAF that they wish to play their first leg match against Simba SC on 15 December 2018, out of the three dates they were presented with to select from.
That first leg match will take place at Nkana Stadium, where the COSAFA Championship tournament is currently taking place.
“Nkana FC, who are participating in this season’s CAF Champions League, chose to play their first leg match against Simba SC on 15 December from the three dates (14, 15 & 16) they were presented with to select from,” Destombes said. “We tried convincing the club’s executives to play their CAF match on the 16th, which would have allowed us to play our match on the 14th as initially planned. However, they refused.”
The COSAFA’s Secretary General further added that the shift of dates in the final match will not have any effect on the semi-final fixtures confirmed for 11 December 2018, being shifted into other dates as well.
“No, it will not because all participating teams will have a rest day leading up to all of their knockout stages of the tournament” Destombes said.
“In previous COSAFA tournaments, we have always had one rest day leading up to our knockout stage matches and this year will not be any different.”