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.

 

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