2021 COSAFA Cup draw set for Thursday…Zambia’s title defense set for July

The draw for the 2021 COSAFA Cup will be staged in host city Nelson Mandela Bay on Thursday, June 17, The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations has confirmed.

The draw will be live on www.cosafa.tv from 11h00 when the fate of the competing teams will be decided.

The 12-team tournament will take place from July 7-18 and returns after the 2020 edition had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The highest-ranked team in Africa Senegal will be the guest nation making their debut in a new format of 12 teams split into three groups each containing four teams. This ensures each side will play a minimum of three matches.

The top team in each pool, as well as the best second-place finisher, will advance to the semifinals. There will be no Plate competition this time around.

Defending Champions, Zambia leads the other 10 sides who have confirmed participation so far including hosts South Africa, and record six-time winners Zimbabwe.

Others who have booked their place are Botswana, Comoros Islands, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia. The 12th team will be confirmed in the coming days with several interested parties.

The Copper Bullets will be aiming for a sixth title to match record winners Zimbabwe (six wins), South Africa have won four titles, Angola three, and Namibia have a single title to their name.

Mozambique, Malawi, and Botswana have all twice been finalists but ended up on the losing side on both occasions. Lesotho (2000) is the only other team to reach the decider.

Zambia won the tournament in 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013, and 2019.