The Cosafa Cup traditionally gets a bad rap from SA football fans‚ in part through naked arrogance and in part a lack of understanding of why the tournament exists and what its mandate is. There are many supporters of Bafana Bafana who feel that playing Mauritius‚ Lesotho or even Botswana is beneath them‚ and of no interest or value for the national side. That being the top dog in the Southern African region is not important. That is where the arrogance comes in. But in truth the Cosafa Cup has never been about the trophy at the end of the tournament. It is nice to have‚ and a goal for all teams to strive towards‚ but the tournament was set up to help develop football in the region and in this regard there can be no argument that it has been a success.
Take Lesotho as an example. Setting up friendly matches is financially tough for the tiny mountain kingdom and in years where there are no qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) or World Cup‚ the team battles to play...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.