2 Monday 2019 – Today marked the final day of a D-License Coaching Course hosted by CAF Instructor Zunaid Mall in Lusaka, Zambia, as COSAFA continues to leave a lasting legacy across the Southern African region.

The course was staged ahead of the 2019 COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship that will be played in the Zambian capital from December 4-14 and sees the best young talent in the region compete for the coveted trophy.

COSAFA has long championed the development of the game on and off the pitch, and while much of the focus is on playing matters, there is always plenty that happens ‘off camera’ to aid the growth of coaches, match officials and administrators.

That is certainly the case again as Mall took the prospective D-License coaches through a course that will now allow them to further their football education at the next level.

The four-day course has been a regular feature at COSAFA tournaments in recent years, where one was also held for budding female coaches during the COSAFA Women’s Championship in South Africa earlier in the year.

“We lay the platform for aspiring coaches to further their football education, with the introductory D-License Coaching Course an excellent way for them to test their appetite for coaching,” Mall said.

“We have taken this course around the Southern African region and provided hundreds of male and female coaches with the tools to take the next step in their careers. We are incredibly proud as COSAFA to be able to do this.

“It means we do not just roll into town with our tournaments, play them and go home. We leave a lasting legacy for that country in terms of coaching, and the other workshops, courses and programmes that COSAFA runs.”

Other initiatives on the go at the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship are an Elite Referees Course run by top FIFA Instructor Felix Tangawarima together with Jackson Pavaza and Katongo Kabungo, which started on November 28 and finishes on Tuesday.

There will also be an Administration & Management Course led by former FIFA Development Officer Ashford Mamelodi from December 6-10, and a Youth Festival for young, aspiring footballers co-hosted by COSAFA and Spain’s LaLiga on December 13.

COSAFA will also hold Integrity Workshops in partnership with Genius Sports to warn educate players and match officials about the dangers of match-fixing.