2011 Cosafa Archive

SA BEAT BAROKA
South Africa beat local third-tier side Baroka FC 5-0 in a practice match played on Saturday as they continue to prepare for their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt in Cairo on Sunday.

PIRATES STEAL AWAY SA TITLE
Orlando Pirates snatched away the South African premier league title from close rival Ajax Cape Town on the final day of the season, winning the championship on goal difference.

MEDIA RELEASE - TOP AFRICAN FOOTBALL LEADERS DECLARE THEIR SUPPORT FOR RE-ELECTION OF BLATTER AS FIFA PRESIDENT
A meeting of influential African football leaders to discuss the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup for the African continent ended today with a strong declaration of support for the re-election of FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter at the upcoming FIFA Congress on 1 June 2011.

2014 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION
A record African entry for the 2014 World Cup finals has been announced and the qualification process will begin before the end of this year, the Confederation of African Football said.

SA FRIENDLY PUSHED BACK
South Africa’s international friendly with Tanzania has been pushed back two weeks to May 28, the South African Football Association has announced.

MADAGASCAR TO PLAY FRIENDLY MATCH
COSAFA nation Madagascar will play a friendly international against Iran on July 17, likely to be held in Tehran. The match will be a first in charge of Iran for former South Africa coach Carlos Queiroz, who opted for the Malagasy as opponents over South American side Venezuela.

2011 AFRICAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have been fulsome in their praise for South Africa and the manner in which the country hosted the 2011 African Youth Championships at such short notice.

ZESCO FLYING COSAFA FLAG
InterClube of Angola and Zesco United of Zambia are the last two teams from the Cosafa region who are participating in this year’s African Champions League but have tough assignments ahead in their bid to make the group phase.

COSAFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
“The COSAFA Executive Committee met this week in Johannesburg. Under discussion was the status of the various Cosafa competitions which are being planned for 2011.

SOUTH AFRICAN UNDER-23 HOPING TO FINISH THE JOB
The South African Under-23 side will be hoping to finish the job when they face fellow COSAFA nation Malawi in an All-Africa Games qualifier, second leg, in Lilongwe on Saturday.

NEWS ON SOUTH AFRICA AND LESOTHO
Hosts South Africa go into their final 2011 African Youth Championships match against Egypt at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday in the knowledge that nothing short of a victory will be good enough.

NEW STADIUM FOR MAPUTO
Mozambique have opened their new 40,000-seater stadium which is to be used for the All-Africa Games later this year and will become the home ground for the country’s football team.

ZAMBIA / ANGOLA
Zambian side ZESCO United have held Egyptian giants Al Ahly to a goalless draw in the first leg of their 2011 African Champions League third round encounter.

COSAFA COUNTRY RANKINGS
South Africa have climbed another seven places to number 39 in the latest FIFA World Rankings released on Wednesday.
Bafana Bafana are now at their highest ranking since August 2005 and it continues a remarkable rise up the table that has seen them climb 51 places in the last 12 months.

UNDER 23 DRAW FOR 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
The draw was made for the second round of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympic Games in Cairo on Wednesday. The national Under-23 teams will meet over two legs on the weekends of 3-5 June and 17-19 June, with the winners advancing to the group stages of qualifying.

SA UNDER 23 HEAD FOR MALI
The South African Under-23 side have left for Mali to play the second leg of their 2012 Olympic Games qualifier against Libya on Saturday, one of a number of COSAFA countries in action.

AFRICAN YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS FIXTURES
The fixtures for the 2011 African Youth Championships to be held in South Africa have been announced.
The exact venues for the various matches have yet to be assigned, though CAF have confirmed that the Dobsonville Stadium and Rand Stadium will be used for the tournament.

SOUTH AFRICA BEAT KENYA
Davide Somaa scored after just 67 seconds and Steven Pienaar added a second on the stroke of half-time to steer South Africa to a comfortable 2-0 win over Kenya in their friendly international at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Wednesday.

ANGOLA LOSE IN CHAN FINAL
Angola were beaten in the final of the African Nations Championship in Sudan on Friday, losing 3-0 to Tunisia in the deciding game at Omdurman.

SOUTH AFRICAN COACH SIMON NGOMANE
South Africa coach Simon Ngomane has selected the final 23 players for the upcoming African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals taking place in Sudan from February 4-24.

SA TO PLAY BURKINA FASO
South African Football Association CEO Leslie Sedibe has confirmed that Bafana Bafana will play west Africans Burkina Faso in an international friendly on February 9 at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

SA HOLD ONTO TOP SPOT
South Africa have held onto their number 51 placing in the latest FIFA World Rankings, keeping them as the top-rated COSAFA side.Bafana Bafana are three places ahead of Botswana, whose golden 2010 had seen them elevated to the brink of the Top 50 late last year.

SEYCHELLES HAVE NEW COACH
Seychelles have appointed Ralph Jean-Louis as their new coach in place of the Englishman Andrew Amers-Morrison .
The St Michel United coach, also known as ‘Tiapout’, is a popular figure on the Indian Ocean island and a former international. He won the league title with St Michel in 2008.

HEAVY DEFEAT FOR ZAMBIA
Zambia suffered a 4-0 defeat to Kuwait on New Year's Eve, losing the last international of the year after conceding three goals inside the opening six minutes.

LESOTHO DRAWN WITH HOSTS AT U-20 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Lesotho, the only COSAFA representatives at this year's African Youth Championships, have been drawn in the same group with hosts Libya, Egypt and Mali.

MOTOR ACTION WIN ZIMBABWE TITLE
It came down to goal difference on the final day of the Zimbabwe season but Motor Action held on to claim a first-ever premier league title, holding off a blazing challenge from record-holders Dynamos as both finished on 66 point.

NAMIBIA VS ZAMBIA METROPOLITAN / COSAFA U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL
Namibia advanced to their first-ever Metropolitan COSAFA Under-20 Youth Championships final after a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Madagascar in their Last Four clash in Molepolole, Botswana on Friday

ZAMBIA HELD BY BURUNDI
Zambia have been held to a goalless draw by Burundi in their second match at the East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup in Tanzania.

MALAWI ON BRINK OF QUARTERFINALS
COSAFA side Malawi stayed top of their 2010 East and Central African Senior Challenge Cup Group C after a 1-1 draw with Uganda in Dar Es Salaam on Thursday.

MALAWI RECALL PAIR FOR TOGO GAME
A return from injury for South African-based defender Moses Chavula and a run of goals for striker Jimmy Zakazaka have earned them recalls to Malawi’s squad for this month’s African Nations Cup qualifier against Togo.

NEW COACH FOR MALAGASY
Madagascar have belatedly fired French coach Jean Paul Rabier after losing their opening two matches in the African Nations Cup qualifiers, the Malagasy Football Federation said.

AFRICAN FOOTBALL
South Africa have been awarded the right to host the 2011 African Youth Championships, the Confederation of African Football announced on Wednesday.

CUP WINNERS IN MAURITIUS
Champions Pamplemousse FC have won the Republic Cup in Mauritius, beating Petite Riviere Noire FC 3-1 in the final at the BelleVue.