The 2024 Cosafa Cup kicks off at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Wednesday with the prospect of another intriguing regional tournament and perhaps a new champion this year.
Zambia, the record seven-time winners, are seeking an unprecedented third trophy in a row, but will face some stiff competition from several sides who have brought strong squads in preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later in the year.
Zimbabwe also make a return for the first time since 2021, while guest nation Kenya will add some East African flair to the field.
There will be a sense of déjà vu with the opening match on Wednesday as Eswatini take on Botswana in group A for the second year in a row.
These two nations opened the 2023 Cosafa Cup and on that occasion, it was Botswana’s Lebogang Ditsele who got the only goal of the game as they made the perfect start.
They will get started at 15h00 and Botswana coach Didier Gomes Da Rosa has named a relatively young squad for this year’s tournament, but Eswatini have a mix of youth and experience.
BAFANA FACE MAMBAS
The second game of the day sees host South Africa takes on Mozambique at the same venue with a kick-off time of 18h00.
Bafana Bafana have a new-look team packed with young and uncapped players as they look to grow their player pool with the Cup of Nations qualifiers in mind.
They have traditionally used the Cosafa Cup to blood young players and the likes of Iqraam Rayners got a run in 2023, only to go on and become the starting No 9 in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
“For us to be able to compete and achieve our results, our view is that it is important to have more players to select from, but more importantly, players with the required competency to perform at the highest level of football,” stand-in coach Helman Mkhalele said.
“As we observed during the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast earlier this year, the football on the continent has improved drastically. So, for us to sustain the current performance of Bafana Bafana and improve it, it is important that we have players that can perform at that level without any doubt.”
Mkhalele usually acts as assistant coach to Hugo Broos but has the reins for this tournament.
Mozambique have brought a young team too, but they are headline by experienced defender Edmilson Dove, who plays for South African side Kaizer Chiefs.
It should be a fascinating contrast in styles between two teams who love to play attacking football.