COSAFA CUP ALUMNI: the top players who were discovered at the tournament

The Cosafa Cup has been the springboard for many players to go on and have top careers.

The annual regional championship, which kicked off in Gqeberha this week, started in 1997 and since then there has been a regular list of footballers who have been spotted playing for their national team at the tournament and then whisked away to go on and have successful professional careers.

SuperSport.com looks at the best of the bunch:

Mohamed Ouseb: The utility back from Tsumeb in Namibia arrived in 1998 after being spotted at the Cosafa Cup by Screamer Tshabalala, then scouting for Chiefs but who now works at Pirates. Ouseb was named Footballer of the Year after his first season and left Chiefs after three successful campaigns to play in Norway, before returning to South Africa where he joined Moroka Swallows.

Robert Nauseb: Spotted at the same time as Ouseb and again by Tshabalala, he became another Kaizer Chiefs stalwart, joining the club in 1998. Nauseb’s career also took in stints at Ajax Cape Town and Santos. He was both a competent right back and midfielder

Peter Shalulile: With a century of goals in the Premier Soccer League, the Namibian international is their best buys in years, having finished as top striker in the DStv Premiership three times. Originally spotted competing in the Cosafa Cup by Highlands Park coach Allan Freese, he is a converted left back who has a Midas touch and been hailed one of the best forwards playing in African competition.

Mogogi Gabonamong: Just 16 years old when he debuted in the Cosafa Cup for Botswana against South Africa in Gaborone, the hard tackling centre back continued to confirm his potential in the Cosafa tournament before being snapped up by Santos and going onto to play at SuperSport United and for Bloemfontein Celtic.

Siza Dlamini: A stalwart for Swaziland, who he captained for close on a decade, the hard running wide attacker spent most of his career at Jomo Cosmos. Jomo Sono was a regular visitor to Cosafa tournaments, looking for bargain buys from across the border.

Patrick Mabedi: Elegant centre back who is now the coach of the Malawian national; team. He was spotted in the Cosafa Cup by Chiefs and he captained them to success in the 2001 African Cup Winners’ Cup. He finished his career at Swallows.

Andriamirado ‘Dax’ Andrianarimanana: Chiefs’ Bobby Motaung was in the crowd at the 2018 Cosafa Cup in Polokwane to watch the Madagascar midfielder and liked what he say. So much so that he signed him without paying a transfer fee to his club Fosa Juniors and for this Chiefs were given a one-year transfer ban by Fifa.

Lehlohonolo Seema: The Basotho centre back was at Bantu in Maseru when Bloemfontein Celtic spotte him has gone onto a storied career in South African club football, playing for Orlando Pirates before coaching at Celtic, Chippa United, Lamontville Golden Arrows, Polokwane City and most recently Sekhukhune United.

Rotson Kilambe: A hit at the Cosafa Cup with his bustling midfield play, and scorer of the winning goal in the 1998 final against Zimbabwe in Harare, he moved to the PSL where he he continued his habit of netting cup final winners, doing so for both Chiefs and Celtic. He also had a stint at Mamelodi Sundowns.

Dipsy Selowane: The Cosafa Cup proved the perfect launch pad for Botswana’s fresh faced striker he scored for the Zebras against South Africa in 1999.

It was a goal and performance that caught the eye of many coaches and took Selolwane on a journey that saw him play in Denmark, in Major League Soccer in the USA and then in the PSL in South Africa where he was a star with Santos, Jomo Cosmos, Ajax Cape Town, SuperSport United and University of Pretoria