The short notice has placed COSAFA Cup organisers in a tight spot and despite canvasing far and wide across the continent for a replacement, the timeframe simply did not allow for a new participant with the tournament to get under way in Durban this weekend.
It means that this year’s Group A will contain three teams – eSwatini, Mauritius and Comoros Islands – giving one of those sides an excellent opportunity to reach the quarterfinals and set up a date with defending champions Zimbabwe on June 1.
The change has also forced a revision of the fixture list, with the COSAFA Cup now to kick-off with a vlash between eSwatini and Mauritius at the King Zwelithini on Saturday (kick-off 16h30).
eSwatini will then tackle Comoros on May 27 (17h00), before Group A is completed with a match between Comoros and Mauritius two days later (17h30). Both those matches are also at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
Three-times winners Angola have missed two previous COSAFA Cup tournaments – the very first one in 1997 and also four years in 2015.
REVISED 2019 COSAFA CUP DRAW
POOL STAGES | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DATE | KO | GROUP | FIXTURE | VENUE | |||
25/05 | 16h30 | A | eSwatini vs Mauritius | King Zwelithini | |||
26/05 | 14h00 | B | Mozambique vs Namibia | King Zwelithini | |||
26/05 | 16h30 | B | Malawi vs Seychelles | King Zwelithini | |||
27/05 | 17h00 | A | eSwatini vs Comoros | King Zwelithini | |||
28/05 | 15h00 | B | Seychelles vs Mozambique | King Zwelithini | |||
28/05 | 17h30 | B | Namibia vs Malawi | King Zwelithini | |||
29/05 | 17h30 | A | Comoros vs Mauritius | King Zwelithini | |||
30/05 | 17h30 | B | Mozambique vs Malawi | King Zwelithini | |||
30/05 | 17h30 | B | Namibia vs Seychelles | Princess Magogo | |||
QUARTERFINALS | |||||||
DATE | KO | MATCH | FIXTURE | VENUE | |||
01/06 | 15h00 | 13 | Lesotho vs Uganda | Princess Magogo | |||
01/06 | 17h30 | 14 | Zimbabwe vs Winner Grp A | Princess Magogo | |||
02/06 | 15h00 | 15 | South Africa vs Botswana | Princess Magogo | |||
02/06 | 17h30 | 16 | Zambia vs Winner Grp B | Princess Magogo | |||
PLATE SEMIFINALS | |||||||
04/06 | 17h00 | 17 | Loser M13 vs Loser M15 | Moses Mabhida | |||
04/06 | 19h30 | 18 | Loser M14 vs Loser M16 | Moses Mabhida | |||
CUP SEMIFINALS | |||||||
05/06 | 17h00 | 19 | Winner M13 vs Winner M15 | Moses Mabhida | |||
05/06 | 19h30 | 20 | Winner M14 vs Winner M16 | Moses Mabhida | |||
PLATE FINAL | |||||||
07/06 | 17h00 | 21 | Winner M17 vs Winner M18 | Moses Mabhida | |||
CUP THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF | |||||||
07/06 | 19h30 | 22 | Loser M19 vs Loser M20 | Moses Mabhida | |||
FINAL | |||||||
08/06 | 15h00 | 23 | Winner M19 vs Winner M20 | Moses Mabhida |