The COSAFA Show

The development of women’s football in the COSAFA region in the last decade has been impressive, with opportunities on and off the pitch in be part of the Beautiful Game.

In our latest episode of The COSAFA Show, we have an interview with COSAFA Women’s Football Consultant Violet Jubane.

The timing is perfect with the COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship on the horizon, as the next generation of the region’s female football stars will show their potential.

In the latest episode of The COSAFA Show we chat to Leah Sweetness Masango, leader of COSAFA’s vital Technical Study Group at the organisation’s tournaments.

COSAFA held a workshop for aspiring Technical Study Group members from across the Southern African region last week, and she fills us in on the details around that.

There were coaches, former players, technical directors and other stakeholders all present as a range of subjects were discussed.

Masango also tells us about her exciting future, which includes being selected as one of just two coaches from the African continent for a prestigious FIFA programme.

She has already been to Brazil and will be travelling to various other countries around the world as she builds her knowledge to bring back to the Southern African region.

In our latest episode of the COSAFA Show we have Part 2 of the extensive views of newly re-elected CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, who hails from the COSAFA region.

Dr Motsepe will enter a second term at the helm of the game on the continent having been re-elected unopposed following successful first term in which great strides were made women’s and youth football, modernizing refereeing on the continent and several other spheres.

CAF has improved its commercial outlook which has led to increased prizemoney in its competitions across the board.In Part 2 of this discussion with journalists,

Dr Motsepe talks about the progress made in his first term, and how he plans to shape the future of the game on the continent in the coming years.

In our latest episode of the COSAFA Show, which is actually a two-parter, we get the extensive views of newly re-elected CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, who hails from the COSAFA region.

Dr Motsepe will enter a second term at the helm of the game on the continent having been re-elected unopposed following successful first term in which great strides were made women’s and youth football, modernizing refereeing on the continent and several other spheres.

CAF has improved its commercial outlook which has led to increased prizemoney in its competitions across the board. In Part 1 of this discussion with journalists, Dr Motsepe talks about the progress made in his first term, improving women’s football and making the African globally competitive. We will have Part 2 next week.

In this edition of The COSAFA Show we delve into all things Lesotho football to understand the successes and challenges of the Beautiful Game in the equally beautiful Mountain Kingdom.

We chat to Lesotho Football Association General Secretary Mokhosi Mohapi, who has overseen significant gains for the country on and off the pitch but also admits there is much work still to do.

This in-depth interviews covers areas such as the senior national teams, women’s football, junior set-ups, the local league, referees and much, much more in order to get a solid understanding of the current state of Lesotho football, but also what the future holds.

A record seven COSAFA nations have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 and all learned their fate with the draw that was held in Rabat this week.

The 24-team tournament will be staged from 21 December, 2025 to 18 January 2026 and will be a celebration of elite African football in six host cities and nine stadia.

Three COSAFA sides - South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe have been drawn in the same pool at the finals, while Zambia and Comoros have also been paired together, alma with hosts Morocco and Mali.

Botswana return for a second ever finals following their first in 2012, while Mozambique are also back at the finals.

There is no doubt the COSAFA Cup to be staged in mid-year will have extra spice this season as coaches look at their various options.

We speak to coaches from all seven teams to get their reactions to the draw.

In this latest episode of The COSAFA Show we speak to Executive Director Sue Destombes as we reflect on a bumper 2024 for the organisation, and look ahead to what may be in store in 2025.

COSAFA held an unprecedented nine tournaments last year, five of them for women, despite a challenging environment and external factors that were outside of the organisation’s control.

The rewards of this long-term development of men’s and women’s football at all age-group levels can be seen in a record seven COSAFA sides qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco later this year, and the continued improvement of out women’s team.

Destombes outlines the highlights of 2024, on and off the pitch, and the ambitious plans of COSAFA for 2025.

Our final episode of The COSAFA Show for 2024 marks an incredible year for the region that included a record nine competitions staged across various age-groups and also a record seven nations qualifying for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations | Morocco 2025.

The incredible work and dedication from the entire COSAFA team to boost the growth and development of football in the region is bearing fruit, and the proof is in the results produced on the field of play.

In this episode we chat to Comoros coach Stefano Cusin after he led the Indian Ocean Island to the continental finals in Morocco that start in a little under a year. They continue to punch well above their weight.

We also hear from Barbra Banda, another great COSAFA success story, after she was named Women’s Player of the Year at the recent CAF Awards.

South Africa captain Ronwen Williams collected the CAF Interclub Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year at the same ceremony and he also shares his reaction to those two accolades.

Finally, we get the thoughts of Zambia coach Ian Bakala after he led his side to victory at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier and, along with Angola, qualified for the continental finals in Morocco next year.

In our latest episode of The COSAFA Show we reflect on a record seven Southern African nations that have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025. Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe will all be at the finals that are still some way off and start on December 18, 2025.

We will hear from two coaches who have achieved what many did not think was possible with their sides, starting with Morena Ramoreboli, who has taken Botswana to just a second ever visit to the continental showpiece event.

It is a major achievement for the nation, who will make their first appearance on the big stage since 2012.

German coach Michael Nees is new in the job with Zimbabwe, but already has them back at the AFCON after a solid qualification campaign from the Warriors.

We will also hear from him as he details his roadmap to success and the changes he has made with the side. You can listen to more of our podcasts on our YouTube channel, Spotify and iTunes, and you get also get the latest news via our website at www.cosafa.com, and on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

In our latest episode of The COSAFA Show as we discuss all things women’s football in the COSAFA region and look ahead to the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship final that will be played in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Zambia will take on seven-time winners South Africa in the decider that promises to be a close-fought affair between two sides who have shown their tactical acumen in the tournament so far.

But first we hear from Dr Brenda Kunda, who is a COSAFA Executive Committee member and an expert on women’s football in the Southern African region and the continent as a whole.

She gives her insight into what is happening in the women’s game, which is growing at pace, not least thanks to four tournaments that will be hosted by COSAFA this year – the COSAFA Women’s Championship, CAF Women’s Champions League qualifier, and Women’s U20 and U17 tournaments.

We also hear from Zambia coach Florence Mwila following her side’s 2-0 victory over defending champions Malawi in the COSAFA Women’s Championship as she looks ahead to the final. And we also get the views of South Africa coach Maude Khumalo to the penalty shootout victory over Mozambique in the semi-finals.