COSAFA has announced a venue change for the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 with the exciting addition of Kitwe to join Ndola and Lusaka for the tournament that runs from July 6-20.

Kabwe was initially scheduled to be the third venue for the prestigious regional competition, but logistical challenges in upgrading the stadium to the required standard for the competition have meant it has been withdrawn.

But that allows the city of Kitwe to be added to the schedule, joining Ndola as a venue in the north of the country.

“There will be no changes to the schedule, the matches that were due to be played in Kabwe will now be moved to Kitwe. It was a decision taken on logistical grounds but we are delighted to have such an excellent option as Kitwe to host matches. The city has a strong football culture and a great history in the game,” says Timothy Shongwe, Chairman of Cosafa’s Competitions Committee.

The COSAFA Cup returns for the first time since 2009, when then hosts Zimbabwe defeated Zambia 3-1 in the final.

The tournament was first played in 1997 as a regional championship for Southern African sides. Zimbabwe head the honours list with four titles, while Zambia, South Africa and Angola have three each.

Zambia coach Herve Renard has named his squad for the international friendly with Namibia in Windhoek on next Friday.

The squad is made up entirely of home-based players as Renard begins to consider his selection for the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 that runs from July 6-20.

There are no major surprises in the team, though exciting young talent Mukuka Mulenga returns after missing the 2-0 win over Zimbabwe last month.

Zambia squad:

Goalkeepers: Rabson Muchelenganga (Nchanga Rangers), Davy Kaumbwa (Green Buffaloes), Daniel Munyau (Red Arrows)

Defenders: Jimmy Chisenga, Bronson Chama (both Red Arrows), Malama Donashano, Christopher Munthali (both Nkana), Keegan Bwalya (Kabwe Warriors), Fackson Kapumbu, Salulani Phiri (both Zanaco)

Midfielders: Kondwani Mtonga, Maybin Mwaba, Kangwa Chileshe (all Zesco), Misheck Chaila (Konkola Blades), Shadreck Malambo, Bruce Musankanya (both Red Arrows), Roderick Kabwe (Zanaco), Alex Ngonga (Nchanga Rangers), Mukuka Mulenga, Julius Situmbeko (both Power Dynamos)

Strikers: Brian Chewe (Konkola Blades), Festus Mbewe (Nkana), Bonwell Mwape (Nchanga Rangers), Moses Phiri (Zanaco.

South Africa coach Gordon Igesund has sprung a number of surprises in his squad for the two World Cup qualifiers against CAR and Ethiopia next month.

The coach announced his selection on Friday for the two qualifiers, as well as the friendly match against Lesotho in Maseru on June 1. South Africa then play CAR in Cameroon on June 8 and Ethiopia in Addis Abiba on June 15.

Igesund has gone for pace out wide with a return to the team for Richard Henyekane from Mamelodi Sundowns perhaps the major surprise. Orlando Pirates’ Tlou Segolela is also in the mix, as is club mate Thandani Ntshumayelo, who was selected ahead of the injured Andile Jali.

“We have picked players with an eye on both games, so some have only been selected with the second game in mind,” Igesund said. “We need to get a win or a draw out of the CAR game, but against Ethiopia it is must win. We have to beat them and it is going to be a war.

“The pitch in Yaoundé where we will play CAR is perfect, it is big and has an excellent surface. That will mean we can treat it like a home game for us at the neutral venue.

“The pitch in Ethiopia is bumpy and not good at all, so we will have to adapt out game for that.” The big question of who will be in the defence is the big question for Igesund, with the likes of Thabo Matlaba, Morgan Gould and Siyanda Xulu all injured. It is possible that he will go with the entire Kaizer Chiefs backline that has just won the PSL championship – right-back Siboniso Gaxa, centre-backs Tefu Mashamaite and Erick Mathoho, and left-back Tsepo Masilela. They are players who are at least familiar with one another.

"We have been dealt a good opportunity through the war in CAR, having to not play in CAR is a huge boost. We will miss the intimidation that they threatened us with,” Igesund says. "The game against Ethiopia … we don’t have to be pretty and impress people, we need to get a result and we will do whatever we need to do get the result.

"We will fly in the day before, stay one night and play the game." Bafana Bafana will enter camp in Johannesburg on May 29, take on Lesotho in Maseru and then fly to Cameroon on June 4.

Bafana Bafana squad:

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns), Senzo Meyiwa (Orlando Pirates)

Defenders: Erick Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs), Tefu Mashamatite (Kaizer Chiefs), Thabo Nthethe (Bloemfontein Celtic), Anele Ngcongca (Genk, Belgium), Bevan Fransman (SuperSport United), Tsepo Masilela (Kaizer Chiefs), Siboniso Gaxa (Kaizer Chiefs), Tebogo Langerman (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Midfielders: Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England), Dean Furman (Unnattached), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates), May Mahlangu (Helsingborg, Sweden), Thandani Ntshumayelo (Orlando Pirates), Richard Henyekane (Mamelodi Sundowns), Thuso Phala (Platinum Stars), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Daine Klate (Orlando Pirates), Tlou Segolela (Orlando Pirates)

Strikers: Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs), Tokelo Rantie (Malmo, Sweden), Katlego Mashego (Moroka Swallows).

South Africa has confirmed that they will be partipating in the COSAFA Cup Zambia 2013 and will be bringing a strong squad to boot.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund wanted to be able to take the strongest possibe team to the regional championship, viewing it as the prestigious competition it has become.

That lead to talks between the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Premier Soccer League (PSL) for the release of the best players in the local league for the July6-20 competition.

These talks have been successful and SAFA CEO Dennis Mumble says he is pleased with the outcome.

"We will have a competitive team going to Lusaka," Mumble told reporters. "The meeting went well and we were able to find each other and there were firm commitments.

"Obviously [club] coaches would like to take their players to camp in the off-season, but it's also important we honour our commitment to COSAFA and we are hopeful we will have a strong team going to Zambia."

South Africa has been drawn to face the winner of Group A in the competition, which comprises East African guests Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius and Seychelles.

Bafana Bafana will play their next World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic in Yaounde, Cameroon on June 9, FIFA have said.

The match will be at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, the traditional home of the fabled ‘Indomitable Lions’, which these days has an artificial plastic pitch. FIFA ordered the game moved from the Central African Republic capital Bangui because of the tenuous security situation there, following the rebel take over that led to the death of 13 South African troops. South Africa had asked FIFA to switch the game because of concerns about their security in a town where rebels and looters are still said to be roaming the streets.

Cameroon is next door to the Central African Republic but still far enough to ensure that there will not be much support for ‘Les Fauves’, who have lost home advantage and the backing of their fans. It is a massive boost to Bafana’s World Cup hopes that the match has been taken away from Bangui It will be the first time that Bafana Bafana play in Cameroon. Ironically Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions have played South Africa six times but never in their own country.

Bafana coach Gordon Igesund can now properly plan for his side’s two key qualifiers next month – against the Central African Republic and then Group A leaders Ethiopia away in Addis Ababa on June 16.

South Africa are still waiting to learn the venue of their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic (CAR) on June 9.

CAR have missed the April 30 deadline for submitting proposals for the game after the match was moved from Bangui because of the security situation in the country.

The CAR have still not been able to put together a new proposal, having approached both neighbouring Chad and Cameroon to host the Group A qualifier.

CAR have to pay for the costs of switching the venue but if unable to organise it, will have to go where FIFA designate the game to be played.

The switch from Bangui, where SANDF troops were killed in March and the country’s president Francois Bozize overthrown by rebels, is a massive boost for Bafana’s hopes.

There were major concerns in South Africa over the safety of team as well as their mental fortitude after all the recent events in the Central African Republic.

Bafana play two key away games next month on the road to Brazil, needing at least four points to stay in contention.

After the June 9 clash with the Central African Republic, Gordon Igesund's squad take on group leaders Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on June 16.

The draw for the COSAFA Cup 2013 has thrown up some mouth-watering fixtures ahead of the tournament to be staged in Zambia from July 6-20.

The draw was made in Lusaka on Friday night, where the 14 competing nations in the Southern African champions learnt their fate. The eight lowest seeded sides according to the April FIFA World Rankings were pooled into two groups of four sides each.

The remaining six top seeds enter the competition in the quarterfinal stages, with hosts Zambia already paired against Mozambique in their Last 8 clash.

Group A contains East African guests Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius and Seychelles and is sure to be hotly contested.

Group B features another guest nation from East Africa, Kenya, as well as Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

The teams will play each other in a round-robin format, with the top sides in each pool advancing to the quarterfinals.

Aside from Zambia take on Mozambique, holders Zimbabwe will start the defence of their title with a tasty clash against Malawi. South Africa will take on the winners of Group A, while Angola await for the victors in Group B The opening game of the tournament will be played in Lusaka on July 6 when Tanzania take on Mauritius. Matches will also be played in Kabwe and Kitwe.

The COSAFA Cup returns for the first time since 2009, when then hosts Zimbabwe defeated Zambia 3-1 in the final. The COSAFA Cup was first played in 1997 as a regional championship for Southern African sides. Zimbabwe head the honours list with four titles, while Zambia, South Africa and Angola have three each. They are the only countries to have won the event.

GROUP ROUND

06/07/13 Tanzania v Mauritius 14h30 (Lusaka)

Namibia v Seychelles 17h00 (Lusaka)

07/07/13 Kenya v Lesotho 13h00 (Kabwe)

Botswana v Swaziland 15h30 (Kabwe)

08/07/13 Mauritius v Namibia 14h30 (Lusaka)

Tanzania v Seychelles 17h00 (Lusaka)

09/07/13 Lesotho v Botswana 13h00 (Kabwe)

Kenya v Swaziland 15h30 (Kabwe)

10/07/13 Tanzania v Namibia 15h00 (Kabwe)

Mauritius v Seychelles 15h00 (Lusaka)

11/07/13 Kenya v Botswana 15h00 (Lusaka)

Lesotho v Swaziland 15h00 (Kabwe)

QUARTERFINALS

13/07/13 QF1: Zimbabwe-Malawi 13h00 (Lusaka)

QF2: South Africa-Win Group A 15h30 (Lusaka)

14/07/13 QF3: Angola vs Win Group B 13h00 (Kabwe)

QF4: Zambia vs Mozambique 15h30 (Kabwe)

15/07/13 REST DAY

16/07/13 Loser QF1 vs Loser QF3 15h00 (Kitwe)

Loser QF2 vs Loser QF4 17h00 (Kitwe)

17/07/13 Win. QF1 vs Win. QF3 17h00 (Ndola)

Win. QF2 vs Win. QF4 20h00 (Ndola)

18/07/13 Win Plate SF1 vs Win Plate SF2 17h00 (Kitwe)

19/07/13 REST DAY

20/07/13 Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 15h00 (Ndola)

Win. SF1 vs Win. SF2 18h00 (Ndola).

Roger Palmgren was named as coach of Namibia on Thursday, just over a month before they play two World Cup qualifiers against Malawi and African champions Nigeria, a Namibia Football Association statement said. The 50-year-old Swede was coach of Sierra Leone when they competed at the 1996 African Nations Cup finals in 1996 and later also in charge of Rwanda.

His last job was with South African premier league club AmaZulu, who fired him late last year. Palmgren replaces Bernard Kaanjuka, who resigned after Namibia were beaten at home by Malawi in their last World Cup qualifier in march. They have three points from three games in Group F, two behind joint leaders Nigeria and Malawi.

14 countries split into 2 basic groups being:

lower ranked 8 teams as per to FIFA Rankings 11/4/13

top ranked 6 teams as per FIFA Rankings 11/4/13

8 teams compete in the Group Phase, divided into 2 Groups of 4

Top 4 ranked teams from the 8 are seeded in Groups A & B

Winner of each group advances to the Quarter-Final Round

6 top ranked teams are joined by the winners of the Group Phase in the Quarter-Final round

Seeding of top 4 teams according to ranking

Winners of the 4 QF matches advance to the Semi-Final round and ultimately to the 3rd/4th Classification or Final

Losers of the 4 QF matches advance to the Plate Semi-Final round

Winners of these 2 matches advance to the Plate Final

DRAW PROCEDURE

Draw commences for GROUP ROUND with 4 seeded teams being placed in 1 bowl and the remaining 4 teams in the second bowl

First ball out of seeded bowl becomes the seed for Group A and second ball is seeded in Group B, similarly with the remaining 2 balls in the seeded bowl

We continue by drawing balls out to populate positions A3, A4 & B3, B4

Fixtures are populated electronically as each ball is drawn

MC talks through the Group Round results whilst the Draw Master prepares the balls for the Quarter-Final Draw

We now have 6 new teams plus 2 teams which read “Winner Group A” and “Winner Group B”

The 4 seeded QF teams go into bowl 1 and the unseeded teams incl the Group round winners go into bowl 2

The fixtures for QF are established by drawing from bowl 1 (seeded teams) followed by bowl 2 (unseeded teams) until all 4 fixtures are populated

When we look at the rankings, we will have the following scenario for the Group and QF rounds:

GROUP ROUND : The seeded teams will be TANZANIA (ranked 33) and KENYA (ranked 34).

QF ROUND

Seeded teams according to FIFA rankings are:

ZAMBIA, SA, ANGOLA & ZIMBABWE

COSAFA CUP Zambia 2013

GROUP A GROUP B

A1 B1

A2 B2

A3 B3

A4 B4

Teams participating in the Group Round are:

Kenya ,Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritius & Seychelles

GROUP ROUND

06/07/13 Day 1: A1 v A3 14h30 A2 v A4 17h00 (Lusaka)

07/07/13 Day 2: B1 v B3 13h00 B2 v B4 15h30 (Kabwe)

08/07/13 Day 3: A3 v A2 14h30 A1 v A4 17h00 (Lusaka)

09/07/13 Day 4: B3 v B2 13h00 B1 v B4 15h30 (Kabwe)

10/07/13 Day 5: A1 v A2 15h00 (Kabwe)

A3 v A4 15h00 (Lusaka)

11/07/13 Day 6: B1 v B2 15h00 (Lusaka)

B3 v B4 15h00 (Kabwe)

Teams with a bye to the Knock-Out Round are:

Zambia, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique & Malawi

13/07/13 Day 9: QF1 13h00 (Lusaka)

QF2 15h30

14/07/13 Day 10: QF3 13h00 (Kabwe)

QF4 15h30

15/07/13 Day 11: RESTDAY

16/07/13 Day 12: Loser QF1 vs Loser QF3 15h00 (Kitwe)

Loser QF2 vs Loser QF4 17h00

17/07/13 DAY 13: Win. QF1 vs Win. QF3 17h00 (Ndola)

Win. QF2 vs Win. QF4 20h00

18/07/13 DAY 14: Win. Plate SF1 vs

Win. Plate SF2 17h00 (Kitwe)

19/07/13 DAY 15: RESTDAY

20/07/13 DAY 16: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 15h00 (Ndola)

Win. SF1 vs Win. SF2 18h00

Zambia will host COSAFA rivals Zimbabwe in a friendly encounter on Sunday to mark the 20th anniversary of the air crash that killed 18 Chipolopolo players and six officials off the coast of the Gabon.

The devastating event on April 28, 1993 happened as the team were on route to Senegal to play in a qualifier for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Sunday’s fixture will take place at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka, with the proceeds from the game to go into a trust for the families of the victims.

"We thought since it is 1993 to 2013 and has been 20 years since Gabon, we wanted to commemorate with a match between Zambia and Zimbabwe," Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Kalusha Bwalya said. "The proceeds will be donated to the families of the disaster.”

Zimbabwe are expected to land in Lusaka on Friday.

Bafana Bafana have been handed a major World Cup boost with FIFA formally deciding that the upcoming tie against Central African Republic must take place at a neutral venue. A FIFA spokesman confirmed: “The match has to be played on neutral ground.”

The decision comes amid reports of fresh fighting in the CAR capital Bangui where recently rebels killed 13 SANDF soldiers and overthrew former president François Bozizé. FIFA have decided that the security of the South African squad cannot be guaranteed and therefore a potentially difficult trip has now been avoided.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund had been concerned that his players may have been intimidated by the surreal atmosphere of Bangui and the events that have taken place there in the past few months. Igesund acknowledged that getting peak performance out of the squad under such circumstances would have been difficult and so this announcement will come as a major boost to his chances of getting the team to the World Cup next year. A new venue must be decided by the CAR. That decision only has to be taken at the end of the month.

South Africa play two away matches in June, seeking to keep alive their hopes of going to Brazil. Avoiding a trip to Bangui gives new hope that Bafana Bafana might be able to pick up valuable away points in their battle to finish top of Group A and qualify for the last round of play-off matches.

Bafana Bafana and midfielder Reneilwe Letsholonyane believes South Africa’s qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is solely in their hands.

There are three matches left in the qualifiers, two away encounters against Central African Republic (CAR) and Ethiopia before rounding off the programme with a seemingly easy home clash against neighbours Botswana. South Africa is currently on five points in second place, with Ethiopia top of Group A with seven points, while CAR and Botswana are lying third and fourth with two points and one respectively.

“If you look at the table very carefully, we have not lost a match; we drew two and won one. With three matches to go, we have to play CAR who are below us, and Ethiopia who are above us. So if we get positive results against the two, we will top the group, and come September against Botswana we will have played our part,” said Letsholonyane. “The exciting thing about these qualifiers is that we have to do our own job and not depend on others to do it for us. We must just win our games and qualify. No other scenario will do.” “Playing away has always proven to be difficult, more so because we are going to play back to back matches and it doesn’t mean we cannot return with maximum points. But we have to take one game at a time – deal with each opponent at a time, get the required result and move on to the next match because in any case the planning for each qualifier will not be the same,” said the dreadlocked midfielder.

Bafana Bafana has already played a draw against Ethiopia and defeated CAR at home, but Letsholonyane says it will be a different ball game altogether playing away. “That we beat CAR at home does not mean they are an easy side. They showed glimpses of being a good side with quality players, so we don’t have to take them lightly based on the past result. This is a new game altogether and we have to forget about our victory over them and focus afresh. We can’t afford to take any of the remaining matches lightly. All three countries in our group have proven to be tough opponents,” said Letsholonyane.

“But I am confident we can return from CAR and Ethiopia victorious, and finish off the job at home against Botswana because we have become a better team with each match. I believe we have the players to fight for a positive result.”

Lesotho coach Lesley Notsi says his side have been buoyed by their 1-1 home draw with COSAFA rivals Zambia in last month’s World Cup qualifier in Maseru.

The result follows an impressive 0-0 home draw with Sudan last June, and a first round ousting of Burundi, that serves as further evidence of a rise in the level of Lesotho football.

Notsi is now looking forward to their next fixture away in Zambia in June where they will be looking to pull off another surprise result. “We will be going to Zambia with the belief we can make it. We have proven we can do well away when we beat Burundi in the first rid of qualifying. We scored twice there,” said Notsi.

“I think with the approach we had against Zambia we’ll do well again. I know it won’t be easy, in fact it’ll be tough. But we’ll surprise … we’ll surprise,” he warned “The guys are getting there. We are aware our league is not professional, it’s amateur. There are a lot of challenges that we face. But I believe with these type of games, playing against a Zambian team whose track record speaks volumes, or Ghana, our guys are getting exposure and experience. It means we improve with each game,” added Notsi.

A delegation from COSAFA headed by Chief Operations Officer Sue Destombes was in Zambia last week on an inspection visit of facilities ahead of the 2013 COSAFA Cup from July 6-21.

The party visited the three venues in Lusaka, Ndola and Kabwe, and but for some minor refurbishments at the latter venue, are wholly satisfied that the preparations are well on track for the regional showpiece.

The delegation arrived in Zambia on Tuesday last week and stayed until Saturday. “Ndola and Lusaka were first-class, with the Railway Stadium in Kabwe just needing some minor refurbishment to bring it up to international standard,” Destombes says.

“Ndola is an excellent facility, while Lusaka was recently upgraded for the Zone VI Games held in Zambia and so those two venues are ready. Overall the state of preparedness for the COSAFA Cup is very good. Our visit went predictably well.”

Football Association of Zambia General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer George Kasengele said the country were ready to host a successful event. "Our commitment to organizing and hosting a successful tournament is unquestionable. This regional championship will demonstrate our commitment and ability to organise even bigger championships and our campaign for the 2019 Africa Cup will be further boosted by what will be a successful COSAFA championship in July.

"All the parties are committed and come July, we will have a very successful tournament which will yet be the best ever hosted," Kasengele said.

All 14 competing nations have been confirmed for the tournament, which returns after an absence of three years. The draw for the first round pool stages will be made in Lusaka on May 3.

Namibia coach Bernard Kaanjuka has resigned after his country’s World Cup loss at the weekend cost them ground in their qualifying campaign. Namibia were beaten 1-0 at home by Malawi in Windhoek on Saturday, their second defeat in three Group F matches. “I think the time has come to part ways with the association because I failed in my mission to qualify the team for both the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup,” Kaanjuka said, effectively writing off Namibia’s chances with three matches still to play even though they are only two points behind co-leaders Nigeria and Malawi. He had been in the job for the last 18 months and won four of 15 matches in charge.

It was a busy weekend of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification action around the African continent with a number of COSAFA sides still in contention for a place in Brazil next year.

Nigeria needed a late equaliser to salvage a World Cup qualifying point on Saturday but other heavyweight contenders like Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and Tunisia won key qualifiers to continue on course for Brazil.

Substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi scored three minutes into stoppage time to snatch a 1-1 draw for the newly crowned African champions at home to Kenya in a surprise setback just six weeks after winning the Nations Cup.

Nigeria, who have only one home game left in Group F, share top place in their group with Malawi, who beat COSAFA rivals Namibia 1-0 away in Windhoek.

A curling free kick from Francis Kahata put Kenya ahead before half-time in Calabar. Nnamdi’s equaliser came off a long throw as desperate Nigeria went in search of a draw.

Samuel Eto’o scored twice to hand Cameroon a 2-1 win over Togo in Yaounde, as they seek to restore lost lustre after missing out of the last two Nations Cup.

Eto’o’s role in the side had been the subject of much conjecture before the game after he failed to turn up for a warm-up friendly last month.

But while he restored his status as leader of the team, Togo played without Emmanuel Adebayor who did not arrive for the game in a continuation of his spat with coach Didier Six.

Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou were among scorers for the Ivory Coast as they beat the Gambia 3-0 at home without Didier Drogba, dropped for the Group C encounter in Abidjan.

Tunisia won a third game in Group C by beating Sierra Leone 2-1 at home to go well clear in their standings. Giant defender Christopher Samba, playing in his first competitive game for Congo after a lengthy hiatus from international football, got the only goal in a narrow win over Gabon that puts them in a strong position in Group E.

Tunisia and Congo are the only teams so far with nine points from their first three qualifiers.

Burkina Faso continued the form that took them to the Nations Cup final in February by hammering Niger 4-0 at home in Ouagadougou. But it was their first success of the campaign and they are left with much to do if they are to stand any chance of progressing to the final round play-offs at the end of the year.

South Africa won their first Group A game by beating the Central African Republic 2-0 in Cape Town but Senegal suffered a surprise setback after being held 1-1 by Angola. Moussa Sow gave them a first half lead in neutral Guinea, where the match was moved after Senegal were banned for a year from hosting home matches, but Amaro equalised 15 minutes from time for the injury-hit Angolans. Meanwhile on Sunday, Zambia and Morocco were left to both reassess their World Cup qualification ambitions after setbacks put their campaigns in peril and made hollow predictions of a rise in their immediate fortunes.

Zambia extended to seven matches their winless streak as plucky Lesotho grabbed a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw in Maseru while Morocco crashed to a 3-1 defeat in Tanzania to fall well behind the Ivory Coast in their group standings. Cape Verde Islands, the toast of the recent African Nations Cup with their surprise quarter-final place, crashed back to earth with a 4-3 defeat at Equatorial Guinea while the Democratic Republic of Congo were held at home by strife-torn Libya on a day the minnows came to the fore.

Zambia were African Nations Cup winners in 2012 and have made much of an experienced generation kicking on to secure a first ever World Cup place in Brazil. But they have ceded advantage in Group D to Ghana, who beat Sudan 4-0 in Kumasi on Sunday. Zambia still lead Ghana by a single point but have an away match in Ghana to come at the end of the group phase in September and coach Herve Renard said afterwards he feared the points dropped to 166th-ranked Lesotho could come back to haunt them. A rasping left footed shot from long range from Litsepe Marabe saw unfancied Lesotho grab a dramatic late equaliser after Collins Mbesuma had out the 10-man Zambia side ahead with a quarter-hour left.

Zambia played almost the entire second half down to 10 men after goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene was sent off for a professional foul. Morocco would need a minor miracle to revive their fortunes in Group C after their foreign-based do of Thomas Ulimwengu and Mbwana Samata (2) scored in a shock win in Dar-es-Salaam.

Morocco had spent the week training in Dubai for the game but could only muster a stoppage time consolation goal from Youssef Al Arabi. Their much-vaunted squad has been consistently tipped to offer Morocco a chance to achieve on the African stage but the last 18 months have been filled with a series of setbacks. Tanzania now move one point behind the Ivorians in the group but Morocco are five off the pace with three games left, including a trip to Abidjan.

DR Congo had a chance to join Cameroon atop Group I but played out a goalless draw with Libya, whose players mainly come from home-based clubs who have been without league action for two years now. Cape Verde lost a third qualifier and are almost certainly out of the running after Emilio Nsue scored a hat trick on his debut. The Mallorca striker only agreed to play for Equatorial Guinea after failing to make Spain’s squad for last year’s Olympic Games football tournament.

Ethiopia went to the head of Group A after an 88th minute goal from Getaneh Kebede gave them a 1-0 home win over Botswana while Mali top Group H after coming from behind to Rwanda 2-1 away. Two more African qualifiers are due on Tuesday when Egypt host Zimbabwe and Benin visit Algeria.

Cosafa president easily wins CAF election

Cosafa president Suketu Patel has decisively won re-election to the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee. Patel, from the Seychelles, will now serve a third term on the executive until 2017 having received a resounding vote of confidence from the electorate.

He polled 33 votes to secure his place in the first round of the South Zone elections at the CAF Congress in Marrakech, Morocco. A second round of voting saw the second regional seat go to Malagasy Football Federation president Ahmad, whose got 27 votes to 21 for Danny Jordaan (South Africa) and one each for John Muinjo (Namibia) and Fezal Sidat of Mozambique. Adam Mthethwa of Swaziland withdrew from the contest.

Patel also serves as CAF’s senior vice president and is an influential member of several FIFA committees.

Southern African rivals Namibia and Malawi will both be confident of a win in their the World Cup qualifier campaign at the Windhoek’s Sam Nujoma Stadium on Saturday as they renew a regional rivalry. Traditionally Namibia have been a bogey side for Malawi but there is little to choose between the two teams in terms of player quality and potential. Home advantage does not necessarily offer Namibia any advantage as there will be a familiarity about Windhoek for the Malawians. But for the Brave Warriors, a win presents a chance to stay in touch with leaders Nigeria in the group. Namibia won their previous home match last June against Kenya but Malawi have drawn their opening two qualifiers. “Kenya is now traveling to Nigeria and we don’t know what will happen there. But if it happens that they draw the game and we beat Malawi, then we will be on top of the group. So we can’t wait for Kenya to do the job for us, we have to do it ourselves, so we have to beat Malawi,” said Namibia coach Bernard Kaanjuka. Malawi lost on Tuesday in a warm-up in Botswana where a single goal separated the two teams. It was the debut in charge of new coach Eddington Ngonamo, who has replaced Kinnah Phiri.

Lesotho have named three foreign based players in their squad for Sunday’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Zambia.

Coach Leslie Notsi will also have the Tunisian-based midfielder Bokang Mothoana in his 20-man squad for the Group D match in Maseru plus the South African-based pair -- winger Katleho Moleko, from FC Atletico in Cape Town, and Tsepo Lekhoana, who has just signed for Maluti FET College. Both clubs play in the third tier of South African football.

Lesotho have a single point from their first two group games, given a 7-0 hiding by Ghana in their opening qualifiers away in Kumasi in June but then drawing 0-0 at home with Sudan one week later.

This time they will be without star defender Nkau Lerotholi because of a impasse between his club Matlama and the Lesotho Football Association.

But there is a recall after a long absence for attacking midfielder Litšepe Marabe from Bantu.

Squad

Goalkeeper: Mohau Kuenane, Liteboho Mokhehle (both Lioli)

Defenders: Jerry Kamele (Joy), Tšoanelo Koetle (Lioli), Tlali Maile (Bantu), Thabo Masualle (Lioli), Janefeke Molibeli (Lesotho Defence Force), Moitheri Ntobo (Lesotho Correctional Services), Basia Makepe (Joy)

Midfielders: Litšepe Marabe, Thabiso Mohapi (both Bantu), Ralekoti Mokhahlane (Lesotho Correctional Services), Katleho Moleko (FC Atletico, South Africa), Bokang Mothoana (US Monastir, Tunisia), Mabuti Potloane (Linare), Thulo Ranchobe (Lesotho Correctional Services)

Strikers: Mojela Letsie (Lesotho Defence Force), Lehlomela Ramabele (Likhopo), Thapelo Tale, Tšepo Lekhoana (Maluti FET College, South Africa).

Goalkeeper Lama, who mistakes proved costly for Angola at the African Nations Cup finals, has been dropped for the weekend’s World Cup qualifier against group leaders Senegal.

Coach Gustavo Ferrin has brought back goalkeeper Hugo from Primeiro Agosto for the match in neutral Guinea on Saturday in one of eight changes from the 23-man squad that played at the African Nations Cup finals.

Lama is joined on the sidelines by veteran Gilberto, Dede, Zuela and fullback Marco Airosa, who have likely come to the end of their international careers.

Defender Lunguinha, who also played in the tournament in South Africa, has also been left out along with midfielder Manucho Dinis. Also back is Mabina, who was cut from the squad just one week before the Nations Cup, and fellow midfielder Job.

Three Vados are in the squad chosen by the Uruguay-born coach – the defender from AS Aviacao, called up for the first time; the midfielder from InterClube and the striker of the same name from Recreativo Libolo.

Goalkeepers: Hugo (Primeiro Agosto), Jota B (Petro Atletico), Landu (Recreativo Libolo)

Defenders: Amaro (Primeiro Agosto), Bastos (Petro Atletico), Dany Massunguna (Primeiro Agosto), Fabrício (InterClube), Gomito (Recreativo Libolo), Mabina (Petro Atletico), Mingo Bille (Primeiro Agosto), Vado (AS Aviacao)

Midfielders: Job (Petro Atletico), Manuel (AS Aviacao), Miguel (Petro Atletico), Pirolito, Vado (both InterClube)

Forwards: Djalma Campos (Kasimpassa), Geraldo (Parana), Guilherme Afonso (FC Vaduz), Ito (Progresso Sambizanga), Manucho (Real Valladolid, Spain), Mateus (Nacional), Vado (Recreativo Libolo), Yano (Progresso Sambizanga).

South Africa will know that nothing short of victory in their home clash with Central African Republic will do as they host the side in Cape Town on Saturday night.

Bafana Bafana are currently third in the pool with tough visits to Ethiopia and CAR to come. The Ethiopians play Botswana in the other game on Sunday.

Zambia have been elevated to the top of Group D after they were awarded a 3-0 walkover against Sudan after the latter fielded an ineligible player. With a trip to Lesotho up next on Sunday, Chipolopolo should stay there.

Ghana are playing catch-up in the group and have a potential tricky tie when they welcome Sudan to Kumasi on the same day. This will be no easy task.

African champions Nigeria have not looked convincing in Group F qualifying so far, but can change that when they host Kenya in Calabar on Saturday. There will be an all-COSAFA clash between Namibia and Malawi in Windhoek on the same day.

Egyptian football has suffered much tragedy in the past few years, affecting their national team form and meaning they have not qualified for consecutive Nations Cup tournaments. They have also not been to the World Cup since 1990.

But they have two wins from two in their Group F and will host Zimbabwe in Alexandria next Tuesday. Sunday sees Guinea travel to Mozambique.

Senegal are favourites in Group J and have made a decent start. They host Angola in Conakry, Guinea on Saturday after being barred from Dakar for previous crowd trouble.

Second-placed Uganda will travel to Liberia for a game they would expect to win in Paynesville on Sunday.

Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund has named his squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Central African Republic on March 23

Bongani Khumalo and playmaker Thulani Serero are surprise absentees from the selection for the match

Igesund says the pair were both left out after sitting on the bench with their respective clubs since the Africa Cup of Nations.

Khumalo is at Greek side PAOK and Serero with Ajax Amsterdam.

Igesund confirms that goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune will be skipper for the match against CAR.

Also left out is Mamelodi Sundowns striker Katlego Mphela, who has been off-form, but remains Bafana’s most potent forward in international football.

He has been replaced with Israel-based striker Dino Ndlovu, who makes a return to the squad after missing the Africa Cup of Nations through injury.

Also back from injury is Morgan Gould of Kaizer Chiefs, as well as Daylon Claasen from Lierse. Russian-based FC Rostov defender Siyanda Xulu is also back in the squad.

SuperSport United keeper Ronwen Williams will join the squad as a non-playing member to be assessed by the technical team.

BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns), Senzo Meyiwa (Orlando Pirates)

Defenders: Morgan Gould (Kaizer Chiefs), Siyanbonga Sangweni (Orlando Pirates), Thabo Nthethe (Bloemfontein Celtic), Anele Ngcongca (Genk, Belgium), Siyanda Xulu (Rostov, Russia), Tsepo Masilela (Kaizer Chiefs), Thabo Matlaba (Orlando Pirates)

Midfielders: Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England), Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic, England), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates), May Mahlangu (Helsingborg, Sweden), Daylon Claasen (Lierse, Belgium), Lerato Chabangu (Moroka Swallows), Thuso Phala (Platinum Stars), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Daine Klate (Orlando Pirates)

Strikers: Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs), Dino Ndlovu (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Tokelo Rantie (Malmo, Sweden).

Bafana Bafana and Oldham Athletic midfielder Dean Furman is confident that South Africa will qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

South Africa resume their “Road to Brazil” qualifying campaign when they take on the Central Africa Republic on March 23 at the Cape Town Stadium.

You are back in England playing club football, how are things going?

The relegation battle is hotting up, we have tough games during this period, very physical encounters and sadly we lost this past weekend but we have to keep fighting. The battle is on and I am hopeful we will survive relegation. The advantage is that we are playing teams that are around us, so it makes it a bit easier. Should I be selected for the CAR clash, I will miss the away match to Shrewsbury to be played on the same day.

Have you recovered from the rigours of the AFCON tournament?

Yes, I have recovered and have been playing regularly at my club. I only have great memories from the tournament and will take a lot of positives because the truth is we had a great tournament, so we must just build on that.

How was the experience of playing in your first AFCON, especially on home soil?

It was a proud moment for me playing in front of more than 50 000 fans at home wearing their Bafana Bafana jersey. It is something I never thought I would experience in my lifetime and I shall be forever grateful for the opportunity of representing my country on such a big stage. It was also a proud moment for my family and the tournament is one of the things that will forever stand out in my career for a long time to come. The people of Durban, where we played most of our matches, made this tournament a very memorable one for me and I would like to thank everyone for the memories.

And the penalty miss in the match against Mali, do you still think about it?

Yep, and that will probably stay with me for a very long time. The other day I found myself practicing penalty kicks again and thinking of what could have been..... “What if I hit it like this, or like that, or what if I had put it at this corner or that corner,” but it’s all in the past now and we have to learn from such experiences. Credit should also go to the Mali keeper for making the brilliant save. Funny thing is that I was one of the better penalty takers during our practice sessions at Bafana Bafana, that is why I was so gutted. I have to admit it was the worst way to exit a tournament when we were doing so well, but then again it’s such things that make us stronger.

We are now facing CAR in a 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifier, what’s your take?

It is a massive game for us and for the country. Now that the AFCON tournament is behind us, our next challenge is to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil. That is the pinnacle of football, the world stage where every player wants to showcase their talent. We hope the people of Cape Town and South Africa in general will come out in numbers to support us as they did during the AFCON. We also need to thank them again because it was through their backing that we were able to do well in the tournament.

What should South Africa do to qualify for Brazil starting with this match?

It’s a fact that we had a great tournament, so we have to continue from where we left off. Our performances were good and if we return to action with that mindset there is no reason we should not do well and find ourselves top of the group. We need to take the confidence from that tournament into the qualifiers. If you remember well, we started slowly against the Cape Verde Islands, were good against Angola, even better against Morocco and we dominated against Mali. That in itself shows we grew as the tournament progressed and it gives me confidence that we will do well.

How should we approach the first game?

We have some tough away qualifiers coming up in June (Ethiopia and CAR), so it is crucial that we win our home games, starting with CAR in about two weeks and Botswana in September. But also we should not be afraid to take our chances away because we have shown that we can win on the road as we did in Kenya last year. We are now left with four matches and should treat every one of them as key to our aspirations of qualifying for Brazil 2014. But I have great confidence in this team that we will qualify for this tournament.

The draw for the qualification tournament for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed to next January, meaning COSAFA countries will have a long wait to find out their path to the finals. The draw was expected to be made at the CAF conference in Morocco at the weekend, but will now be held in South Africa early next year. All of the 53 CAF members have entered the 2015 Nations Cup, which is being hosted by Morocco. The qualifiers are being sandwiched into a three-month period after the 2014 World Cup, so there is no need for a draw right away. The qualifiers for the next Nations Cup will be divided into two stages. There will be five preliminary round ties, likely over two legs in June 2014, which will deliver five winners to join with 43 other countries in 12 groups of four. Teams participating in the first phase will be the lowest ranked sides, which could include COSAFA sides Lesotho and Swaziland. The group qualifiers will be crammed into the second half of 2014, once the World Cup in Brazil is out of the way. Each country will play six qualifying games and will be forced to play twice a month in September, October and November next year. CAF said the winner of each of the 12 groups would qualify for the finals along with the three best runners-up. The tournament in Morocco will be played between January 15 and February 15, 2015 The identity of the 10 countries to play in the preliminary round will be the bottom 10 countries on the FIFA rankings. But for the group phase of the qualifiers, CAF will use its own rankings to decide the seedings. These rankings are based on results in recent Nations Cup competitions but the latest update has not been done by CAF.

A much-improved performance by South Africa was not enough to avoid a 1-0 defeat against the Republic of Ireland in the second match of the Cyprus Cup in Group C.

The match took place in windy conditions at Paralimni stadium in Cyprus.

A lapse of concentration in one of the most crucial stages of the match again – opening five minutes of the second half – saw the Irish girls profit through an Aine ‘O Gorman half volley from inside the penalty area.

The Banyana Banyana side dominated the contest in the first half, struck the crossbar three times in the second half, but unluckily failed to score against the towering opponents who came into the match buoyed by a 5-1 opening day drubbing of Northern Ireland also in Group C.

Playing with the advantage of the wind in the first half, Ireland put Banyana on the back foot but coach Joseph Mkhonza’s charges weathered the pressure. From one such incident with the wind in favour of the Irish, Grace Murray watched in agony as her in-swinging corner kick from the left struck the crossbar and cleared to safety by the outstanding Janine van Wyk.

Refiloe Jane and Amanda Dlamini produced a far better display in the middle of the park to stifle the Irish but it was upfront where Banyana’s attack looked jaded. Jane, in particular, played superbly as the protective shield for the back four. Jermaine Seoposenwe was sent through by a defence-splitting pass from Jane but saw her shot saved by Ireland goal minder Emma Byrne midway through the first half.

Substitute Noko Matlou and fellow striker Nomathemba Ntsibande, came close to scoring on three occasions in the second half but first Matlou’s header agonizingly shaved the upright. Moments later, Ntsibande struck the upright with a fierce low shot while the Ireland goalkeeper Byrne dived low to save one of Matlou’s other attempts towards the end of the match.

Arguably the best player on the park for Banyana was winger Mary Ntsweng. She thought she had scored with a long range effort but watched in disbelief as the shot cannoned off the crossbar following sustained pressure by the fighting Banyana side that searched without luck for the elusive equaliser.

Despite conceding early on in the second half, South Africa goalkeeper Andile Dlamini performed well on the few occasions she faced challenging situations, a huge improvement from her first outing on Wednesday.

The 2012 African Women championship runners up will face Northern Ireland in their final Group C match on Monday in Cyprus. In the late evening kickoff after the SA and Republic of Ireland game, Korea Republic will play against Northern Ireland.

Sudan lost top spot in its 2014 World Cup qualifying group on Monday after sport's highest court stripped the country of its victory against Zambia for fielding an ineligible player. The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected the Sudanese Football Association's appeal against a FIFA ruling to award Zambia a 3-0 win by default. CAS said Sudanese officials claimed they were not properly informed that Saif Ali was suspended, yet "couldn't not be aware of the fact that" the player was ineligible for the match last June. Ali scored in Sudan's 2-0 win in Khartoum, four months after being sent off when the same teams played an African Cup of Nations quarterfinal. Zambia's complaint provoked a FIFA investigation. "The CAS panel in charge of this case rejected the arguments of the SFA after noting that the secretariat of the Confederation of African Football had indeed informed the SFA that (Ali) would be suspended during the next official match of the national team," the court said. "In case of doubt, it should have verified the player's eligibility with the competent FIFA and/or CAF authorities." The court's ruling puts Zambia top of the four-team group with six points from two matches, three ahead of Ghana. Sudan falls to third place with one point, and last-place Lesotho also has one point. Qualifiers resume on March 22 when Sudan plays away to Ghana and Lesotho hosts Zambia. The winners of 10 African qualifying groups advance to a final round in October and November. The five winners of home-and-away playoffs go to the World Cup next year in Brazil.

With the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations a thing of the past, COSAFA nations now turn their attention to the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers that resume later this month. South Africa will take on Central African Republic in Cape Town on March 23 and their coach, Gordon Igesund, is looking forward to the challenge.

You must be looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers, how will you be approaching them?

Gordon Igesund: The AFCON tournament is a totally different competition altogether. In the AFCON I had to select a team that would play a tournament, a match every three or so days. You had to consider a lot of things, look at different situations like what would happen if things were to go the other way. You had to also think about the next game. Now I have to select a team for a particular game. Now you can pick a team and not be concerned about what happens if two players get injured. There is no need to worry much about extra back-up in certain situations.

What have you been doing since the end of the tournament?

My technical team and I have been watching a lot of games since the re-start of the PSL. When I was in hospital, they went on about the job. I have received reports about players and matches and now that I am out of hospital and fully recovered, I am also watching the matches again. We have to pick a team that has to perform and hopefully that will see us qualify for the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup. Now it is just a matter of picking the team that will play this one particular match and get the three points.

Can we expect any changes to the playing personnel?

Yes there will be a couple of changes. Like I said before, when you pick a team for the tournament you have to cover all your bases. But picking a team for a once-off match, you can have luxury in certain departments, like I don’t need too much cover in defence. During AFCON I had two players for every position, and unfortunately I can only make three substitutions, so it is pointless to have six players as cover. The team will be a lot more offensive.

A great momentum was created during AFCON 2013, can we continue with that?

It is very important that we do, the players are on a high at the moment and we need to continue from where we left off. The vibe around this team is very positive and I want to maintain that spirit. We lost to Mali on penalties, and I can safely say we ended the tournament unbeaten in 90 minutes in four matches. Having said that I think the players have learnt a lot from this tournament, and I think in the short space of time we had, the players adapted very well. I am thrilled with the way they responded. But also there are a few areas that we need to fix. There are a few players that are coming back from injury that I need to have a good look at over the next couple of days like Morgan Gould, Siyanda Xulu, Bevan Fransman and Daylon Claasen.

How different are the challenges of a tournament and that of a qualifier?

The challenges are the same, every game you play you want to win. But this is a different scenario in that we are not in a good position in the qualifiers. We have played two games and are sitting on two points when we should be having more than that. We have dropped four huge points and are left with four games, so we are basically playing catch-up. We are in a situation where we almost have to win every game. We are starting from the bottom in respect of points that we should have gained. If we had one win and a draw it would have made a huge difference. We also understand that qualifying for the World Cup is huge for us, and if we had those extra points it would be a different story, so we can’t afford to lose, that is the bottom line.

How important is this clash against CAR?

The first match of the qualifiers (after the AFCON) is very important because at the moment CAR are above us on the standings, and we need to beat them to overtake them. Should we achieve that, then psychologically we have achieved something and then we can get the momentum going. That is why I say there are no other thoughts other than winning because we are all aware that a draw will not help our cause. And sometimes when you go out knowing what you have to do, it becomes a little bit easier because the players know we have to win.

Banyana Banyana’s Amanda Dlamini has resigned as the captain of the senior women’s national team with immediate effect and will be replaced by the team’s vice-captain Janine van Wyk on an interim basis until a permanent replacement has been identified by the team’s technical team. Dlamini, who is a student at the University of Johannesburg where she is currently completing her third year of study in Transport Management cited her need to fully commit on her studies in her crucial academic year of study while also concentrate on improving her game without the huge responsibilities that come with leading the team among the reasons behind relinquishing the captain’s armband. “It has truly been an amazing journey leading the team for the past three years and my position as captain has opened a lot of doors for me while on the field of play, I led Banyana Banyana during one of our most successful era which saw us make history and qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. I wish the next captain all the best in leading such an amazing bunch of talented and committed girls,” said the dreadlocked midfielder, who also plies her trade for the University of Johannesburg Ladies FC. “As a senior member of the team I will continue to give my support and guidance where it is needed. I’m grateful to SAFA and Sasol for their continued support for women’s football and for affording me the opportunity to lead our national team,” she added. Dlamini has made 60 appearances for Banyana Banyana and has scored 19 goals during that time while she was the captain of the high-riding Banyana side since 2010. Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza said: “When we first heard the news from Amanda we were all quite shocked and disappointed but we fully accept her decision and have supported her during this time. She has made a name for herself during the time she led the team, she showed good leadership qualities and saw the team through many successes which include participating in the Olympics and playing in the final of the African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea last year.” Janine van Wyk, who takes over captaincy of the side during the team’s participation at the Cyprus Women’s Cup until a permanent replacement has been identified, is currently the most capped player in the squad and the coach and his technical team have full confidence in her to carry out the duties as the leader of the team. Banyana Banyana are currently in Cyprus for the Cyprus Women’s Cup which will take place from Wednesday, 6th March until Wednesday, 13th March 2013. The team are in Group C alongside South Korea, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) say they will set up a Commission of Enquiry to look into the FIFA Match Fixing Report following their National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Saturday. The Association also accepted the report from the FIFA investigation team as its own. The independent Commission of Enquiry will be appointed in consultation with SASCOC and the Ministry of Sport and Recreation as soon as possible. The Commission must submit its findings and recommendations within three months of its establishment. The NEC appointed SAFA Vice-President, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, together with the Chairman of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Mr Poobalan Govindasamy and his Ethics, Fair Play and Security Cluster Committee counterpart, Mr Jan Koopman, to interface with the Commission on behalf of SAFA. Any possible disciplinary measures against anyone mentioned have to await the outcome of the Commission. SAFA will write a letter to FIFA to advise them of its decisions. It was also resolved that SASCOC be informed on the NEC resolutions regarding the Match Fixing issue and appointed a delegation to meet with it regarding the establishment of the Commission of Enquiry.

South Africa have moved their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Central African Republic from Orlando to Cape Town. Bafana Bafana return to the Mother City where they played an international friendly match against Norway earlier this year in front of a bumper crowd. “As usual, the City of Cape Town is proud to host our boys as part of our unwavering commitment and support for Bafana Bafana. We want to take this opportunity to congratulate them for a job well done in the recently-ended Africa Cup of Nations tournament which we hosted,” said City of Cape Town Executive Director, Anton Groenewald. “The determination Bafana showed in the just ended AFCON tournament confirmed that the future is bright for our football and that we are headed in the right direction. This important encounter against the CAR is part of our continued support for Bafana. We once again expect a huge crowd like we saw in January. Let’s also take this opportunity to wish head coach Gordon Igesund fast recovery and hope he arrives here in Cape Town in fine health to proudly lead the team to victory.” This will be South Africa’s third match in the campaign following two draws against Ethiopia and Botswana last year. “After our great showing in the AFCON 2013, we are confident Bafana Bafana will do well in the campaign to qualify for Brazil 2014. This by no way means we are disrespecting our opponents. We did not start our campaign well, but at the same time it must be noted that we haven’t lost a match, which is a positive sign,” said SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani. “Now we need to continue from where we left off in the AFCON tournament and carry the momentum into the qualifiers. We return to Cape Town where we always enjoy great support, and we urge the people of the Mother City and surrounding areas to do it again and rally behind our boys.”

The South African Football Association (SAFA) Development Agency has set its priority on increasing the base of coaching educators in the country to see as many as 15 000 coaches throughout the Local Football Associations (LFAs) licensed by the end of the 2013. There are currently 30 licensed coaching educators in South Africa and the vision is to increase the base of instructors to 150 to carry out this bold new plan. The starting point is to train the present Level 3 as well as Level 2 coaches who are interested in being coaching educators. One coach will be assigned to oversee the training two LFA’s. Last year SAFA launched its Technical Master Plan designed to rebuild the structures of football from the grassroots in order to create sustained international success for its national teams. A key element of the plan is the ambitious goal to achieve a coach: player ratio of 1:20 in the next ten years. This would mean licensing 15,000 coaches a year for the next ten years. “Given that since 1997 we have licensed almost 9,000 coaches, the scope of the plan is revolutionary”, says Fran Hilton Smith, Acting Technical Director. “In order to achieve it, we will have to run two CAF “C” Licence courses in every one of our 311 LFAs each year, as well as one “B” Licence course in every Region, and one “A” Licence course in every Province” she added. “This is a big task but we must set goals and try to achieve them. For this to happen, we need more coach educators as at present we only have 30. This is where the Level 3 and 2 coaches come in- to be trained as educators in their regions.” “This will give us the necessary number of coaches that we require to achieve the levels of international success that we aspire to” says Dennis Mumble, Acting CEO of SAFA. The newly formed SAFA Development Agency will be assisting SAFA to set up the necessary project plans for this roll-out, as well as to raise the necessary funding to make it possible. SAFA Development Agency CEO, Dr Robin Petersen, says that each one of these coaches to be trained will also be trained as a Life Skills Educator, as it is scientifically demonstrated that all-round coaching is necessary to create successful teams. “Having these coaches as life-skills educators will also give us a network of trained people to get across crucial social programmes in health, gender, skills development, leadership formation and other key issues” says Petersen. There will be no cost to the willing candidates but they will be remunerated for their efforts.

A four-man Libyan delegation that came to see and learn about hosting of major soccer events, says it is highly impressed at the way COSAFA country South Africa has become a model of hosting major sporting tournaments. The delegation, led by Dr Makhlouf Mabruk and comprising former players and Ministry of Youth and Sport officials, has been in the country for a week gathering notes on how to host a successful soccer tournament. Libya is scheduled to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after Morocco in 2015. South Africa took over the hosting of the just ended 2013 tournament from Libya after the North African country had been plunged into civil war. “I was amazed by what I saw. This visit will help us a great deal in our 2017 preparations. This country is world class and the people are extremely friendly, hospitable and the perceptions we had before coming here are contrary to the incredible situation on the ground. I have been all over the world but this country is one of the most organised nations I have ever been to,” said Dr Mabruk. Dr Mabruk said before coming here, he had heard stories of how unsafe this country was and that it was rife with diseases; perceptions he said were totally wrong. He said he was stunned at the beauty of the country. “It is unfortunate these are some of the falsehood people are told about his great country. I will personally tell Libyans to take time and visit this wonderful country.” Dr Mabruk said he would ask for the South African expertise in the country’s preparations for 2017 AFCON tournament. “We have gathered lots of information from our meetings with several stakeholders including meetings with FIFA and CAF presidents, Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter and Issa Hayatou. We briefed the two of the status quo in Libya, how safe the country was after the revolution and also requested them to support the country’s efforts for 2017.” He said with the assistance of Africa, the World and South Africa in particular, Libya would host a good AFCON tournament in 2017. “What will make the tournament in 2017 different from the rest is because of Libya’s geographical location. It is close to Europe, the Middle East and most of the outside world, so this will be the gathering of the whole world. My message to the football family is to come to Libya and see how nice the country is,” he concluded.

The Cosafa Cup, suspended since 2010, will return this year with the re-launched tournament being held in Zambia in July, and Castle returning as the main sponsor.

The announcement was made at the opening of the new offices of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa). Cosafa House, in Johannesburg.

The Cosafa Senior Challenge, an annual tournament which has seen participation by Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe is being revived, with South African Breweries (SAB), under the Castle brand, back as sponsor.

Castle was the original sponsor of the competition in 1997 on a 10-year deal before pulling out in 2006, leaving the tournament without a sponsor from 2007-2009. The 2010 tournament, due to be held in Angola, was cancelled.

Speaking at the opening of the new Cosafa house in Johannesburg, Suketu Patel, the president of Cosafa, said: "We agreed on a deal today with Castle regarding the sponsorship of the tournament which will be played in July in Zambia. "The agreement that we have is that we will have the tournament this year with the option of extending if we have a successful competition.

Patel, who is also a CAF vice-president, said although Cosafa would retain their headquarters in Botswana, Cosafa House in Johannesburg would become the regional body's administrative and commercial wing.

"Having our own offices is an important step forward for Cosafa and is in line with the exciting plans that we have for the future. It is important that we are able to function in a professional environment that helps the organisation in our day-to-day operations," said Patel.

The new Council of South African Football Associations (COSAFA) offices in Parkhurst, Johannesburg, will be officially opened by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Dr Issa Hayatou on Saturday, February 9.

The historic occasion will also be attended by presidents from 10 of the COSAFA member associations, helping to usher in a new dawn for the regional body.

Previously COSAFA had been renting space in Johannesburg, but having been issued a grant from CAF for the specific purpose of setting up their own office space in the region, the organisation is now ready to move into their new premises.

The offices can comfortably accommodate up to eight people at a time, has boardroom facilities and even overnight facilities for travelling members of COSAFA when on football business in Johannesburg.

COSAFA President Suketu Patel says the move will be of great benefit to the organisation.

“Having our own offices is an important step forward for COSAFA and is in line with the exciting plans that we have for the future. It is important that we are able to function in a professional environment that helps the organisation in our day-to-day operations. Having our own facilities will also help us cut costs as, for example, we now have our own venue for meetings rather than needing to finance outside facilities,” Patel says.

Johannesburg has long served as the host city of COSAFA given that it is a hub for the Southern African region.

The new COSAFA offices are situated at 1 Victory Road, Parkhurst, Johannesburg.

The opening was officiated by Dr Issa Hayatou, and attended by presidents of the COSAFA member countries, as well as Mr Jerome Valcke representing FIFA.

South Africa named Dutch-based midfielder Thulani Serero in their squad for the African Nations Cup finals despite his not having played since suffering a groin injury in September. He is one of seven foreign-based players in a 23-man squad coach Gordon Igesund described as an exciting collection of young players at a Sunday press conference in Johannesburg. Igesund said he was prepared to gamble on Serero’s fitness because of the match-winning ability of the 22-year-old from Ajax Amsterdam. Serero participated in a three-match training camp this week before being included. “It is a dream side that I believe can do us justice at the tournament,” said the coach after opting to announce his squad early to begin serious preparations from Jan. 2. Hosts South Africa play warm-up games against Norway on Jan. 8 and Algeria on Jan. 12 before the opening game of the tournament against the Cape Verde Islands at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Jan. 19.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Senzo Meyiwa (Orlando Pirates), Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa (Kaizer Chiefs), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK Salonika), Tsepo Masilela (Kaizer Chiefs), Thabo Matlaba (Orlando Pirates), Anele Ngcongca (Racing Genk), Thabo Nthethe (Bloemfontein Celtic), Siyabonga Sangweni (Orlando Pirates)

Midfielders: Lerato Chabangu (Moroka Swallows), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace), Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), May Mahlangu (Helsingborg), Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates), Thuso Phala (Platinum Stars), Thulani Serero (Ajax Amsterdam), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs)

Strikers: Lehlohonolo Majoro (Kaizer Chiefs), Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Tokelo Rantie (Malmo FF), Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs).

Zambia coach Herve Renard has been warned and his country’s federation handed a suspended $10 000 fine for disparaging comments made about the pitch at Nelspruit during the African Nations Cup. The Confederation of African Football took issue with the coach’s criticism of the pitch at the Mbombela Stadium, ravaged by a fungus after heavy rain a week before the tournament start and left needed a covering of sand which made it heavy in patches and bone hard elsewhere. “The organising committee accepted an apology from the coach. However, to ensure non-repetition of such behavior that tarnishes the image of CAF and its officials, the committee decided to issue a warning to Mr. Renard and fine Zambia,” a statement said. The patch pitch in Nelspruit has been the subject of much controversy over the last weeks with Renard not the only coach to have criticised its condition.

Zimbabwe have defeated COSAFA rivals Botswana 2-1 in a friendly international played in Harare on Wednesday. The match is seen as a tune-up for both sides ahead of the resumption of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers next month. It was a first match in charge for the German Klaus Dieter Pagels and he will be pleased that his new-look squad showed character to come from behind for the win. Botswana took the lead inside four minutes as Lemponye Thsirelesto scored for The Zebras. But Zimbabwe hit back through Khama Billiat, who was set-up by Matthew Rusike on 18 minutes. The winning goal came from midfielder Denver Mukamba, who has just joined South African PSL side BidVest Wits. It was an excellent run-out for both teams and a winning start for Pagels in charge of The Warriors.

Burkina Faso struck a double blow at the African Nations Cup on Tuesday, securing a surprise top place in Group C and eliminating holders Zambia from the competition after a goalless draw in Nelspruit. A stout defensive performance held at bay all that an increasingly desperate Zambia could throw at them, and combined with Nigeria’s win over Ethiopia in Rustenburg means Zambia will play no further part in the tournament They are the first holders eliminated at the first stage since Algeria in 1992. Burkina Faso, outsiders coming into the tournament, now play either Togo or Tunisia in the quarter-final on Sunday, ensuring at least one outsider in next week’s semifinals. “We believed we could go further in this. It’s a night of history for Burkina Faso,” said coach Paul Putt afterwards. It is the first time since 1998 -- and only the second time ever -- that they have reached the last eight. “We had double motivation being close to qualification and playing against the champions. I told the players this chance might never come again,” the Belgian-born coach added. Zambia will rue missing their only real chance of the game in the 17th minute when Collins Mbesuma shot straight at the goalkeeper in rare breach of the Burkinabe defence. A cross from Chisamba Lungu set up Mbesuma right in front of goal but his shot went straight at Daouda Diakite They dominated most of the game and virtually camped in the Burkina Faso half in the second half, throwing their centre backs into centre forward positions for the final 10 minutes. But the defence held firm and Burkina might have snuck a goal in the last minute on the counter attack when Jonathan Pitroipa just missed stretching home a cross from Charles Kabore. Burkina Faso did suffer one setback an early injury for Alain Traore, top scorer at the tournament, who went off with a knee injury as early as the 11th minute.

South Africa twice came from behind to hold on for a 2-2 draw against Morocco and a place in the quarter-final of the African Nations Cup but were perilously close to going out of the tournament. Defender Siyabonga Sangweni equalised four minutes from time to ensure they edged the Cape Verde Islands in the standings but had they lost South Africa would have been the first host nation to fail to make the knockout phase in the last 10 tournaments. Morocco are eliminated after drawing all three matches but were minutes from winning the group. Cape Verde Islands beat Angola 2-1 in the other group match in Port Elizabeth, played at the same time. It proved a dramatic conclusion to Group A and will come as great relief to the host nation, who were on the back foot from as early as the 10th minute. Issam El Adoua scored with a header to give Morocco a lead, as South Africa made a feeble effort to clear a corner and might have been two down just minute later when goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune managed to scoop a ball around the corner from Chahir Belghazouani. Khune made an even more vital stop just before half-time as Kamel Chafni broke free but his effort was smothered by keeper, charging outside of his penalty. He then made another crucial save in a one-on-one situation getting a hand to a chip from Youssef Al Arabi to stymie another clear chance for Morocco on the hour mark. South Africa, who managed only one shot in the entire first half, played with more enterprise after the break with two free kicks from Thuso Phala testing Morocco goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri. But it took until the 71st minute for May Mahlangu to lift the 50,000-strong crowd at the Moses Mabhida Stadium with curling equaliser from the edge of the area. Morocco then had to switch tactics and go back on the attack, throwing players forward and were rewarded with eight minutes to go when Abdelilah Hafid swept in a pull back from fullback Zakarya Bergdich. But they could not hold onto the tenuous lead as the pendulum swung back to South Africa with Sangweni finding himself clear to expertly curl the ball between two defenders and wide of the goal in the 86th minute. The hosts stay in Durban for their quarter-final to play the runner-up in group B, to be determined on Monday.

South Africa likely need only draw with Morocco to get through to the African Nations Cup quarter-finals but will want to continue to build momentum and turn themselves into genuine title contenders.

Bafana Bafana have made the tournament come alive with their 2-0 win over Angola on Wednesday, which came as a collective relief to the host nation and added a much needed energy to the tournament.

It was followed by a shock draw for Morocco, held by the tiny Cape Verde Islands in a 1-1 tie at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

That has left Morocco with just two points and needing to beat the host if they are to go through.

But, despite their star-packed squad, they have shown little potential to post a win in the tournament, failing to use their possession in both of their Group A matches against Angola and Cape Verde Islands to their advantage.

Their talismanic midfielder Younes Belhanda will miss the game through suspension but his form has been so horrid that it will come as a blessing.

Morocco now have to look to the likes of Youssef Al Arabi and Mounir El Hamdaoui to turn around their fortunes. South Africa have a mini crisis with striker Lehlohonolo Majoro out after being cut on the shin in the last game against Angola, while Tokelo Rantie pulled up with an ankle injury and did not train on Friday.

They join Kagisho Dikgacoi and Lerato Chabangu on the treatment table, though the latter two have a good chance of being involved on Sunday.

Tickets for game are sold out, the South African Football Association said on Friday. "Those with tickets, please don't stay at home, we want to see the stadium full," said SAFA president Kirsten Nemantandani. If Bafana finish top of the group they will stay in Durban for the quarter-finals.

South Africa have defeated Angola 2-0 to head to the top of their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Group A after their clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Wednesday evening. It was a deserved win for the home side and one that gives them an excellent chance of reaching the quarterfinals of the continental showpiece for the first time since 2002. Goals from Siyabonga Sangweni and Lehlohonolo Majoro in either half sealed the win and provided a part atmosphere for the sell-out crowd. The opening 20 minutes saw Bafana dominate the play, Katlego Mphela, Tokelo Rantie, Bernard Parker and May Mahlangu all having chances to score. But the goal the whole nation so craved arrived on the half-hour mark and it came from an unlikely source. A free-kick into the box was only headed straight up by the Angolan defence and Sangweni volleyed home at the back post with a superbly controlled finish. Mateus had the only real opportunity for Angola in the first half, but he smashed the ball over the bar when well-placed in the box. It was a bad miss. Angola had another opportunity equalise 10 minutes after the break, this time Mateus was the provider, supplying Guilherme Afonso 12-yards out, but Itumeleng Khune made the save. Furman saw his effort from just outside the box agonisingly tipped round the post by Angolan goalkeeper Lama, but the home side did have their second on 62 minutes. Letsholonyane’s long ball out of defence was picked up by Majoro. He left Bastos for dead and cut inside from the byline, driving the ball through the legs of Lama. Angola pressed for a way back into the game and were troubling the South Africans with high balls into the box, but the home defence was able to scramble clear. Majoro might have added a third in the final five minutes when a brilliant piece of distribution from Khune saw the striker 35-yards from goal with Lama off his line, but his chipped effort was well high and wide.

Tiny Cape Verde again proved African Nations Cup spoilers as they held hosts South Africa to a goalless draw in the tournament’s opening game at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Saturday. The island archipelago, the smallest country to qualify for the African championship, were more than a match for a nervous home outfit who looked overwhelmed by the occasion in what was a poor game of football. Over the 90 minutes, Cape Verde had the best chance when a defence splitting pass from midfielder Babanco set up Platini, only for the Portuguese-based forward to screw the ball wide from in front of goal wit just 15 minutes gone. A diving header from Heldon in the second half had to be tipped around the corner by home goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, South Africa dominated possession but made poor decisions as they attempted to pass the ball around and rarely set themselves up with a chance to the disappointment of a crowd short of the sell-out promised by organisers on a cold and rainy day. Their coach Gordon Igesund had labeled his Bafana Bafana squad a potential tournament-winning side when he picked his squad last month but they offered no evidence of that boast with a below average performance. Three attacking changes after a poor-quality first half injected a little life into the home team’s forward forays but the islanders held them at bay.

Missed chances in the second half cost Angola the chance of a major African Nations Cup scalp on Saturday as they played out a 0-0 draw with Morocco in their Group A match at Johannesburg’s Soccer City. It was the second goalless stalemate of the opening day of the tournament after hosts South Africa and the Cape Verde Islands also failed to score, leaving little indication of who might emerge from the group. But it might have been advantage to Angola had they capitalised on a lively second half when both substitute Guilherme Afonso and captain Manucho went agonisingly close. Afonso, called up for the first time on the eve of the tournament, reacted quickest when Morocco’s goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri dropped a cross but his effort went narrowly wide just minutes after coming on for the second half. Manucho, who led the attack for Angola, had two late efforts that also seemed easier to score than miss. The first was a shot from a half clearance in the Morocco defence midway throughout the half and then a dramatic diving header right at the end of the game. Both just missed the target. The game had a lively start in contrast to the drab affair that preceded it with three good chances created in the first 10 minutes – the best falling to Morocco’s Mounir El Hamdaoui. Morocco, a former Nations Cup winner and favoured to go to the quarter-finals, also had a lively patch midway through the second half after bringing on Younes Belhanda, whose adductor injury in the build-up over the last weeks had seen him start on the bench. But any hopes he might prove a talismanic presence once on the pitch quickly faded as Angola took control with a rousing finish as they launched wave after wave of attack.

Bafana Bafana captain Bongani Khumalo has called on South Africans to get behind the team on the eve of the 2013 Nations Cup. Bafana kick-off their campaign with a Group A meeting against Cape Verde at Soccer City on Saturday evening. Good news in the camp is that midfield kingpin Kagisho Dikgacoi has returned to full training after missing out two days on Monday and Tuesday. He joined the rest of his teammates on Wednesday and finished Thursday’s session without any complaints. Captain Khumalo told a packed media conference that home support will work for the team. “That is the advantage you have when you are playing on home soil; you have the fans right there with you every minute of the game and on behalf of the team I would like to thank all the supporters who have come out to support us, we appreciate the faith and the confidence they have shown in us. “The atmosphere South African supporters always create is world class and absolutely unbelievable, and it can inspire every player to go beyond his potential, so coming to this game on Saturday with 90 000 fans is very special. You never know when you will have this opportunity again and we want to make the most of it,” said Khumalo. Head coach Gordon Igesund believes the tournament is motivation enough for the players to do well. “Playing for your country in front of a full house in the opening game of Afcon is enough to push the players to deliver. Everybody is excited about that and they are jumping out of their skin to get onto the field, I believe they are ready for this,” said Igesund. As for pressure, the Bafana Bafana mentor says it is part of the game. “There is pressure for every single coach in this tournament. If there is a coach who tells you he is not under pressure, he is not telling the truth. But it is the kind of pressure that we can handle, the type that is exciting, the type of pressure that you are hosting the tournament and you want to do well and make the country proud,” he added. Bafana Bafana will have their last training session on Friday, 18 January at Orlando Stadium in Soweto starting at 11h00.

South African president Jacob Zuma paid a visit to the Bafana Bafana squad on Tuesday, who urged them to ignore the critics.

Zuma said he believed the team was ready for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and also praised the organisation of the event at such short notice after South Africa took over from war-torn Libya.

“There are too many critics in this country, and I was telling the team that others who are critics have never touched the ball and they don’t know how it feels on the pitch,” Zuma said. “I was telling them that we are satisfied that the team is ready; we have seen it in the recent matches they have played.

“We are satisfied that the team is well prepared for the tournament and we came to say to them they must relax and not be tense and not listen to the critics. I am confident this time than any other time that we will show people what we are made of as South Africans.

“I also wanted to tell the team that the entire country is behind them, even those that are critical; it is because of the love they have for the team. I said I want to touch the cup because if it is won by another country I won’t touch it. Looking at them I can tell they are ready and confident.”

Bafana Bafana kick-off their campaign with a meeting against Cape Verde at Soccer City on Saturday and Zuma praised the work done by the LOC to be ready for the competition.

“Critics will always be there, some of them are paid to be critics and they are doing their job. I think we have done our best. Bear in mind that this tournament was supposed to be in Libya, so this tournament was not given the normal time for preparations and people who are making criticism forget that,” Zuma says.

“We had to start very late as a result of that. I am happy and I think we are ready and I think the country is ready. Fortunately, we have the facilities. We might not have done everything precisely because of how we got to host this edition but we are more than ready,” said President Zuma.

Bafana coach Gordon Igesund said for the state President to visit the team, it was a huge morale booster.

“It is a privilege when the number one citizen of the country comes to meet the players and give support. It is always important for the players and the whole team that he made time in his busy schedule to be with us today. We really feel honoured,” the coach said.

Angola completed their African Nations Cup preparations with a 2-0 win over COSAFA rivals Botswana in Johannesburg on Sunday to end an unbeaten run in their pre-tournament friendlies.

A debut goal for former Swiss junior international Guilherme Afonso gave ‘Palancas Negras’ the lead six minutes before half-time as coach Gustavo Ferrin looked to be settling on his starting line-up for their opening match on Saturday.

Botswana, who played at the last Nations Cup finals but did not qualify for this upcoming edition, held out until six minutes from the end of the game at Soweto’s Dobsonville Stadium.

Manucho, who will carry Angola’s hopes of scoring goals at the tournament, added a second as Palancas Negras find broke down their opponent’s dogged defence.

Angola’s previous warm-up results saw wins over Rwanda, Cameroon’s under-23 and defending Nations Cup champions Zambia and drew with the Gambia.

African Nations Cup hosts South Africa suffered a morale-deflating defeat at home to a young Norway side on Tuesday, beaten by a single goal in Cape Town in their penultimate warm-up international.

Norway, with a team of inexperienced home-based players, scored the only goal from captain Tarik Elyounoussi four minutes before half-time.

He took advantage of some slopping defending to net from close range in the only real attack of the first half for the visitors, who are using their off-season to expose younger players to international football.

The result continues a crisis of confidence for Bafana Bafana, who were hoping for a turn out in fortunes but failed to deliver on pre-match promises, from their coach Gordon Igesund, of attacking play and flair.

Instead they were stymied by a well-organised Norway side and their own poor finishing in front of goal and will have more to contemplate some 10 days before the Nations Cup kick off.

It will also leave the home public sceptical about the team’s chances at the 16-team tournament, which opens with a match between South Africa and Cape Verde Islands at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Jan. 19.

“I’m disappointed we lost the game, but we created a lot of good chances but we have to work now on using the possession better and not overelaborating so much on the ball,” said Igesund after the match.

South Africa concluded preparations against fellow finalists Algeria in Soweto on Saturday. Norway play Nations Cup holders Zambia in Ndola, also on Saturday, in the last game of their brief African trip.

Veteran defender Chintu Kampamba was left out of Zambia’s squad for the African Nations Cup finals as the defending champions confirmed their final 23-man selection on Wednesday. With the replacement at the weekend of injured back-up goalkeeper Kalililo Kakonje and the decision not to include Kampamba, who has been without a club since June, Zambia retain 19 of the 23 players who help them win the continental championship in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon last January. It reflects coach Herve Renard’s determination to keep the consistency in team selection that was among of Zambia’s winning ingredients at the 2012 Nations Cup. The holders continued their warm-up with a goalless draw against Morocco in Johannesburg on Tuesday in a friendly international and play Norway in Ndola on Saturday and Namibia in Nelspruit next week in their last two preparatory matches. They open the defence of their title with a Group C match against Ethiopian in Nelspruit on Jan. 21.

Squad

Goalkeeper: Daniel Munyau (Red Arrows), Kennedy Mweene (Free State Stars), Joshua Titima (Power Dynamos)

Defenders: Hichani Himoonde, Francis Kasonde (both TP Mazembe Englebert), Emmanuel Mbola (FC Porto), Joseph Musonda (Lamontville Golden Arrows), Davies Nkausu (SuperSport United), Stopilla Sunzu (TP Mazembe Englebert)

Midfielders: Isaac Chansa (Henan Jienye), Noah Chivuta (Free State Stars), Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe Englebert), Christopher Katongo (Henan Jienye), Felix Katongo (Petro Atletico), Chisamba Lungu (Ural Sverdlovsk Oblast), Mukuka Mulenga (Power Dynamos), William Njobvu (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Nathan Sinkala (TP Mazembe Englebert)

Forwards: James Chamanga (Dalian Shide), Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton) Collins Mbesuma (Orlando Pirates), Jacob Mulenga (FC Utrecht), Jonas Sakuwaha (Al Merreikh).

Angola cut four players from their preliminary squad for the African Nations Cup finals to finalise their 23-man selection, keeping faith with new striker Guilherme Afonso. The 27-year-old, who won two caps for Switzerland at under-21 level, had been a surprise selection by coach Gustavo Ferrin and the subject of speculation in the Angola press on Tuesday over his chances of making the final cut. He is one of seven European-based players in the final selection. Ferrin left out four home-based midfielders -- Ary from Primeiro Agosto, Mabina of Petro Atletico, Paty of InterClube and Ito from Progresso Sambizanga.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Lamas (Petro Atletico), Landu (Recreativo Libolo), Neblu (Primeiro Agosto)

Defenders: Amaro, Bastos (Primeiro Agosto), Dani Massunguna (Primeiro Agosto), Fabricio (InterClube), Lunguinha (Kabuscorp), Marco Airosa (AEL Limassol), Mingo Bille, Pirolito (both InterClube), Zuela (Apoel Nicosia)

Midfielders: Dede, Gilberto (both AEL Limassol), Manucho Dinis (Primeiro Agosto), Manuel (AS Aviacao), Miguel (Petro Atletico)

Forwards: Djalma (Kasimpassa), Geraldo (Parana), Guilherme Afonso (FC Vaduz), Mauncho (Real Valladolid), Mateus (Nacional), Yano (Progresso Sambizanga).

Angola defeated COSAFA rivals Zambia 2-0 in a training match played at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto on the weekend. The match was a warm-up fixture for both sides ahead of their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations campaigns, where Zambia will enter the competition as defe nding champions. The win for Palancas Negras was achieved despite the absence of two of their leading stars, striker Manucho and midfielder Djalma Campos, who sat out the game with injury niggles. Angola’s goals came from Brazilian-based midfielder Geraldo and a late strike from Amaro, a fine win for coach Gustavo Ferrin, who will be pleased with the form of his side in the build-up to the Nations Cup. Zambia did field two different sides in either half, so were never quite able to build-up a head of steam. They will hope for better in their three remaining matches before they defend their title in South Africa – against Morocco in Johannesburg, Norway in Ndola and Namibia in Nelspruit.

Uncapped striker Guilherme Afonso is a surprise inclusion in a 27-man preliminary squad named by Angola on Wednesday for the upcoming African Nations Cup finals. But the Angolan football federation will first have to seek FIFA clearance to play the 27-year-old, who won two caps for Switzerland at under-21 level. Angola had to chase against time before the last finals to get similar permission for winger Nando Rafael, a former German junior international, to compete. He is a surprise omission from the squad, which is the first to arrive in South Africa for the tournament, which starts on Jan. 19. A contingent of 20 players plus staff were due in Johannesburg on Thursday to begin preparations for group matches against the Cape Verde Islands, Morocco and hosts South Africa in Group A. They will join by seven European-based players on Jan. 3 before the squad is cut to 23 on Jan. 9. Angola have three friendly matches planned before their opening game of the tournament on Jan. 19.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Lama (Petro Atletico), Landu (Recreativo Libolo), Neblu (Primeiro Agosto)

Defenders: Amaro, Bastos (Primeiro Agosto), Dani Massunguna (Primeiro Agosto), Fabricio (InterClube), Lunguinha (Kabuscorp), Marco Airosa (AEL Limassol), Mingo Bille, Pirolito (both InterClube), Zuela (Apoel Nicosia)

Midfielders: Ary (Primeiro Agosto), Dede, Gilberto (both AEL Limassol), Ito (Progresso Sambizanga), Mabina (Petro Atletico), Manucho Dinis (Primeiro Agosto), Manuel (AS Aviacao), Miguel (Petro Atletico), Paty (InterClube)

Forwards: Djalma (Kasimpassa), Geraldo (Parana), Guilherme Afonso (FC Vaduz), Mauncho (Real Valladolid), Mateus (Nacional), Yano (Progresso Sambizanga).

African Nations Cup hosts South Africa began their pre-tournament preparations with a 3-1 home win over Malawi in Durban on Saturday in a timely boost for morale with less than month before the kick off on Jan. 19. Two goals in the first 13 minutes got the home side off to a rollicking start as they swarmed over their opponents to score through Lehlohonolo Majoro and Siphiwe Tshabalala. Both were tapped in from close range as Malawi’s goalkeeper Simplex Nthala failed to deal with a seventh win shot from Lerato Chabangu and the 13th minute cross from overlapping fullback Siboniso Gaxa. But Malawi threatened to claw their way back into the game after Joseph Kamwendo converted a penalty two minutes into the second half. South Africa restored their two goal cushion with a penalty of their own 15 minutes from the end, converted by Swedish-based midfielder May Mahlangu. Bafana Bafana play two more warm-up games against Norway on Jan. 8 and Algeria four days later. They will also kick off the Nations Cup at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Jan.19 against the Cape Verde Islands.

African champions Zambia were beaten 1-0 away in Tanzania on Saturday as they continued their preparations for next month’s defence of their Nations Cup title.

Mrsho Ngassa scored on the stroke of half-time for the home team.

Zambia play two more warm-up internationals against Morocco and Namibia early next month before they start their Nations Cup campaign against Ethiopia in Nelspruit on Jan. 21.

There was success for Zambia and South Africa on finals day in the football competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games in Lusaka.

The men’s Under-17 competition was won by the South Africans, who defeated their hosts in the decider, but the Zambian women’s Under-20 side made up for that set-back with a Gold medal performance as they beat Zimbabwe to claim the title. The matches at the Nkoloma Stadium were both tense and tight affairs, with the South African men coming from a goal down to win Gold in their competition.

Two second half strikes in a space of five minutes cancelled out Chibuye Mulilo's first half effort to give the South Africans a 2-1 win. Fagrie Lakay delivered a wonder-strike on 57 minutes to silence the capacity home crowd. Kabelo Seriba then put the South Africans ahead in the 62nd minute after weaving his way past a cluster of Zambian defenders.

Meanwhile, in the first final of the day, the Zambian women’s Under-20 side beat Zimbabwe 2-0 for Zambia's first ever women’s success in international football. Hero of the day was Hellene Mubanga, whose brace helped her side win gold.

The matches brought the curtain down on a highly successful nine days of football competition at the Zone VI Games, with the men’s and women’s tournaments being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA). Prior to the finals on Sunday, the Team of the Tournament was announced in both competitions. These were compiled by the COSAFA Technical Study Group, led by Ms Elsie Ernesta from the Seychelles, together with a team of Zambia coaches, including former Zambia national team coach Patrick Phiri.

They are made up of the following players:

Women’s Team (formation 4-4-2)

No. 1 South Africa – Kaylin Swart

No. 18 Zambia – Lwendo Chisamu

No. 6 Zambia – Anita Mulenga

No. 11 South Africa – Kelso Peskin

No 5 Zimbabwe – Eunice Chibanda

No. 17 Zimbabwe – Daisy Kaitano

No. 11 Zambia – Mary Mwakapila

No. 9 South Africa – Robyn Moodaly

No. 9 Namibia – Thomelina Adams

No. 15 Zimbabwe – Tafadzwa Tsunguro

No. 10 Namibia – Zenatha Coleman

Men’s Team (formation 4-3-3)

No. 1 Zambia – Mangani Banda

No. 4 Malawi - Boston Kabango

No. 13 Zambia – Kayawe Kapota

No. 9 Swaziland – Lucky Sifundza

No. 2 Mauritius – Jeremie David

No. 7 Namibia – Marco Somseb

No. 17 – Lesotho – Tumelo Khatlang

No. 15 South Africa – Fagrie Lakay

No. 10 Seychelles – Elizabeth Randolf

No. 9 Angola – Carlos Muondo

No. 7 Botswana – Thatayaone Ramatlapeng

Other merit awards handed out today include :

WOMEN’s

1. AIRTEL Select XI team – Mobile phones presented to each player by Airtel representative together with Zambia PS;

2. FAIRPLAY Award (NAMIBIA) – presented to the best team by P.S. And Dr Veii, Chairman of SCSA;

MEN’s

1. AIRTEL Select XI team – Mobile phones presented to each player by Airtel representative together with Zambia Min Youth & Sport;

2. FAIRPLAY Award (Malawi) – presented to the best team by Minister And Dr Veii, Chairman of SCSA;

The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) held its Annual General Meeting in Lusaka on Saturday morning, which has been hailed as a huge success in promoting unity in the region.

The meeting was hosted by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and its president Kalusha Bwalya says the manner of discussions bode well for the future of the game in the region.

"It was a successful Annual General Meeting, which was well conducted. We went through the business of the day diligently and maturely. It was a great success," said Bwalya, adding FAZ is looking forward to hosting the 2013 COSAFA Senior Challenge in June and July next year.

"We will continue to engage stakeholders to bring back the COSAFA Senior Challenge in Zambia next year. It is our wish and the wish of COSAFA Congress,” Bwalya adds.

COSAFA president Suketu Patel called on the regional membership to show greater unity to boost continued growth and the advancement of football development that would help improve the countries' showing in international competitions.

COSAFA are also exploring the possibility of staging a club competition in the form of a Champions League that would see the top teams from each member country compete for the title. In partnership with a South African broadcaster, COSAFA will over the coming months work towards finalising commercial agreements to turn the tournament into a reality.

Meanwhile, a proposal from the Lesotho Football Association to host the COSAFA Under-20 Championships in 2013 was tabled and will be reviewed by COSAFA.

The congress also resolved to support, without opposition, the candidature of its President, Suketu Patel, at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) elective congress in Morocco in March 2013.

Patel, who also holds the position of 1st Vice-President of CAF, will be unopposed for one of the region's two available seats on the CAF Executive Committee. FAZ President Bwalya is also on the CAF committee, but his tenure extends to 2015 and he will not have to seek re-election in March.

One new seat, recently awarded to the southern Africa zone, remains open and it was decided that dialogue, and close consultation, would take place amongst candidates and members to determine who would fill the new and vacant position.

Namibian Football Association president John Muinjo hailed the congress as a success and says it shows the respect among the nations that make up COSAFA.

“Our AGM has been a huge success. What you see in COSAFA is unity and very good conditions for all of us to work together," Muinjo says. "In respect of what we got out of the congress today, the deliberations were of a very high quality and our resolutions reflect that. We are continuing with the progress of the last few years that will continue to help us develop the game in Southern Africa."

The final line-up for the women’s Under-20 competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games will see hosts Zambia take on Zimbabwe after the semi-final matches played at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium on Thursday.

It was another incredible day of drama and excellent football as Zambia stunned favourites South Africa in the first semi-final, while Zimbabwe saw off the challenge of Namibia.

It will be a first-ever final at this level for Zambia, who opened the scoring at the start of the second half when Misozi Zulu netted against the South Africans. The hosts doubled their advantage 10 minutes later when Hellene Mubanga netted.

That goal spurred the South Africans into action and they received a lifeline when Zambian goalkeeper Susan Nalwamba was adjudged to have fouled Thembi Kgatlane in the penalty-area. Megan Newman stepped forward and fired home the spot-kick with 25 minutes remaining.

Zambia was able to hold on for a famous win and celebrated their victory in great style at the final whistle.

In the second semi-final, Zimbabwe netted a goal either side of halftime to beat the Namibians.

Nyasha Munemo drove home Zimbabwe’s first on the stroke of half time and five minutes into the second period, Namibia’s substitute Anouska Kordom was adjudged to have handled in the box. Daisy Taitano easily converted to extend Zimbabwe’s lead.

Namibia had an opportunity to pull one back on the hour mark but Depney Nowabes failed to convert with Zimbabwean goalkeeper Vanesa Lunga well beaten.

Zimbabwe could have stretched their lead further late in the match as Munemo and Tafadzwa Tsunguro combined well deep inside the Namibia half, but the latter fired over.

Namibia and South Africa will now contest the third-place play-off on Friday, while Zambia and Zimbabwe meet in Sunday’s final.

Cosafa says Zambian football is set for further growth and success on the international scene. The southern Africa regional football governing body reckons that the abundant talent Zambia has will be complemented by capacity building and coaches training courses which are aimed at equipping technical staff with modern coaching trends.

Council of Southern African Football Association Executive Committee member Timothy Shongwe says with continued capacity building programmes and effective nurturing of talents, Zambia will continue to succeed on the international football scene.

"On behalf of the President of Cosafa Mr Suketu Patel, we are pleased to note the marked improvements of the game everywhere in Zambia. The football we have been witnessing during these 2012 Zone VI U20 Youth Games is fantastic. Overall, there's lots of advancement of the game here and programmes like the coaching course we have successfully undertaken in Lusaka will further strengthen that,” said Shongwe when he addressed 40 coaches who underwent a Cosafa/FIFA training programme in youth football coaching.

Shongwe is in Zambia with the Cosafa delegation organising the Men’s and Women’s Football Championships which are running in the framework of the regional Zone Six Games. He will also be part of the Cosafa Annual General Meeting which is scheduled for the end of the week in Lusaka.

The 40 coaches who received certificates at the Golden Peacock Hotel included 20 women trainers. They were taken through their training sessions by FIFA instructors Fran Hilton- Smith, Ulrich Mathiot, Honour Janza and coVinstructor Enala Simbeye Phiri.

Said Ulrich: “Congratulations to all you participants. It’s been a great time of learning and engagement over the last one week. You’re a fantastic group of coaches and I believe that your skills and knowledge will help you in your work and taking Zambian football forward.”

Football Association of Zambia Vice President Boniface Mwamelo commended Cosafa for organising the training programme.

“This marks yet another milestone in the technical component of our game. Over the last four years, we have stated time and again our clear objectives regarding training and development programmes. Our prime objective has been to progress towards our goals with clear measurements to use to determine progress. In that regard, building capacity among our various technicians like these coaches gathered here today is very important to us,” said Mwamelo adding: “To FIFA and COSAFA, we extend our sincere gratitude as to all the partners that have supported and worked with us on making this a success.”

The final round of matches in the pool phase of the men’s Under-17 football competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games in Lusaka, Zambia, took place on Wednesday with the four semi-finalists become known.

South Africa claimed top spot in Group A with a 4-1 victory over Seychelles, setting up a semi-final with runners-up in Group B, Angola. Lesotho and Zambia will contest the other Last 4 match.

South Africa’s win was achieved after goals from Fagrie Lakay, Siyanda Ngcobo, Bongane Mathebula and Thembinkosi Phiri, while there was huge jubilation in the Seychelles camp when they scored their only goal of the competition through Cafrine Graham with just two minutes remaining.

In the other match in Group A, Zambia were held 0-0 by Malawi, but still managed to secure second spot.

Lesotho emerged as winners of Group B after a 4-0 success over Swaziland. Mpho Makhaola, Tumelo Khutlang and a brace from Morapeli Lesoetsa gave them the victory.

Angola sealed their semi-final spot with a 2-0 success over Mauritius as Celestino Calueio Cassinda scored a brace for them.

That means South Africa take on Angola in the first semi-final on Friday at the Nkoloma Stadium on Friday, while Zambia entertain Lesotho in the second semi at the same venue at 16h00.

The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on Sunday at Nkoloma Stadium.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Wednesday, December 12

South Africa 4-1 Seychelles

Zambia 0-0 Malawi

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 4 3 1 0 11 3 +8 10

Zambia 4 2 2 0 3 0 +3 8

Malawi 4 2 1 1 9 7 +2 7

Botswana 4 1 0 3 10 9 +1 3

Seychelles 4 0 0 4 1 15 -14 0

GROUP B

Wednesday, December 12

Angola 2-0 Mauritius

Lesotho 4-0 Swaziland

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Lesotho 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8

Angola 4 2 1 1 5 2 +3 7

Namibia 4 1 3 0 4 3 +1 6

Swaziland 4 1 0 3 4 10 -6 3

Mauritius 4 0 2 2 5 9 -4 2

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Tuesday, December 11

Namibia 0-1 Zambia

Zimbabwe 0-5 South Africa

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7

Zimbabwe 3 2 0 1 4 7 -3 6

Zambia 3 1 0 2 2 3 -1 3

Namibia 3 0 1 2 1 3 -2 1 .

The semi-final line-up for the women’s Under-20 competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games in Lusaka, Zambia has become known after the final round of pool matches were played on Tuesday.

South Africa took top spot in the group with a 5-0 win over Zimbabwe, pushing their rivals into second place.

Nomonde Nomtsheke, Chanelle Wiltshire and Alice Khosa all scored first-half goals for the South Africans, with Tshegofatse Makinta and Vuyo Mkhabela adding two more in the second period.

It sets up a semi-final meeting with Zambia on Thursday, after the hosts defeated Namibia 1-0 in their final pool game on Tuesday. Zimbabwe and Namibia meet in the other semi.

There is a clearer picture emerging in the men’s Under-17 competition too after two more games played on Tuesday.

In Group A, Botswana ensured that neither they nor Seychelles could qualify for the semi-finals with a 5-0 win. Wakgotla Outlule, Tiroyaone Maome, Lefika Pheto, Kabelano Mooketsane and Thatayaone Ramatlapeng got the goals.

Botswana have three points from their four games and play no further part in the tournament, and while Seychelles have one more fixture, they cannot mathematically make the top two in the pool.

In Group B, Lesotho and Namibia played to a 1-1 draw that leaves those two sides decently placed ahead of the final round of matches.

Namibia leads the standings with five points, but has now completed their four matches. Lesotho are a further point back with a game to go, while Angola (four points), Swaziland (three) and Mauritius (two) are all still in contention.

In Wednesday’s final round of action, in Group A South Africa need a win against Seychelles to be sure of their qualification, as does Malawi against Zambia. Draws in both those matches will see South African and Zambia though.

In Group B, Swaziland must beat Lesotho to stand a chance of going through, while Angola needs just a draw against Mauritius.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on Friday, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day. The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on Sunday at Nkoloma Stadium.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Tuesday, December 11

Seychelles 0-5 Botswana

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7

Zambia 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7

Malawi 3 2 0 1 9 7 +2 6

Botswana 4 1 0 3 10 9 +1 3

Seychelles 3 0 0 3 0 11 -11 0

GROUP B

Tuesday, December 11

Lesotho 1-1 Namibia

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Namibia 4 1 3 0 4 3 +1 6

Lesotho 3 1 2 0 4 2 +2 5

Angola 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4

Swaziland 3 1 0 1 4 6 -2 3

Mauritius 3 0 2 1 5 7 -2 2

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Tuesday, December 11

Namibia 0-1 Zambia

Zimbabwe 0-5 South Africa

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 3 2 1 0 6 0 +6 7

Zimbabwe 3 2 0 1 4 7 -3 6

Zambia 3 1 0 2 2 3 -1 3

Namibia 3 0 1 2 1 3 -2 1 .

Hosts Zambia and South Africa played out a thrilling 0-0 draw in the men’s Under-17 football competition on day four of the 2012 Zone VI Games in Lusaka on Monday.

There might not have been any goals, but the Group A clash had the capacity crowd on the edge of their seats in the pouring rain as numerous chances were created at either end.

South Africa's Nhlakanipho Ntuli missed a penalty for his side on 33 minutes, putting the ball wide after Zambia's Paul Phiri was adjudged to have brought down Bongani Khanyile in the box.

Zambia came out blazing in the second half, but chances for captain Langson Mbewe, Spencer Sautu and Chibuye Mulilo all went begging.

South Africa had a chance to win it right at the final whistle but a free kick on the edge of the box from the ever-menacing Ntuli drew a spectacular save from home goalkeeper Mangani Banda.

Monday’s other match in Group A was equally as thrilling as Malawi edged Botswana 4-3 to stay in touch with the front two in the pool.

Botswana skipper Thatayaone Ramatlapeng scored a brace for his side, with Kabelano Mooketsane also on the score sheet. But Malawi claimed the win when Abraham Kamwendo, Brian Phiri, Wongani Kuchisanja and Lessman Singini scored for them, the latter getting the winner a minute from time.

South Africa heads the table with seven points, in front of Zambia on goal-difference. Malawi is a further point back, while Botswana and Seychelles have yet to break their duck.

In Group B, Angola moved back into contention for a semi-final place as they beat Swaziland 3-0 to climb to third in the pool. Carlos Muondo Dala scored the first hat-trick of the competition to lead his side to the win.

Namibia had to come from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with Mauritius in the other game in Group B.

The Mauritians streaked ahead as Kervin Gael Deise opened the scoring, before Namibia’s Risto Makuti scored an unfortunate own goal.

But Namibia struck back to earn a point as a brace from Uaseuako Katjiukua in the second period pegged Mauritius back.

The group B table is a tight one, Namibia lead with five points, followed by Lesotho and Angola on four (though Lesotho have played a game fewer), Swaziland have three and Mauritius two.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day. The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Nkoloma Stadium.

The action in the women’s Under-20 competition continues on Tuesday when Zimbabwe play South Africa at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 13h00, while Zambia and Namibia meet at the same venue at 16h00.

Zimbabwe currently top the table with six points from their first two matches, followed by South Africa on four, Namibia on one, while hosts Zambia have still yet to get off the mark.

The semi-finals in the women’s Under-20 competition feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the bottom side, while second meets third. The third-place play-off will be played on December 14, with the final scheduled for the Nkoloma Stadium on December 16.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Friday, December 7

Zambia 2-0 Botswana

South Africa 4-0 Malawi

Saturday, December 8

South Africa 3-2 Botswana

Zambia 1-0 Seychelles

Sunday, December 9

Malawi 5-0 Seychelles

Monday, December 10

Botswana 3-4 Malawi

Zambia 0-0 South Africa

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7

Zambia 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7

Malawi 3 2 0 1 9 7 +2 6

Botswana 3 0 0 3 5 9 -4 0

Seychelles 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0

GROUP B

Friday, December 7

Angola 0-0 Namibia

Swaziland 4-2 Mauritius

Saturday, December 8

Namibia 1-0 Swaziland

Lesotho 2-0 Angola

Sunday, December 9

Mauritius 1-1 Lesotho

Monday, December 10

Namibia 2-2 Mauritius

Angola 3-0 Swaziland

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Namibia 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5

Lesotho 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4

Angola 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4

Swaziland 3 1 0 1 4 6 -2 3

Mauritius 3 0 2 1 5 7 -2 2

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Friday, December 7

Zimbabwe 2-1 Namibia

Zambia 0-1 South Africa

Sunday, December 9

South Africa 0-0 Namibia

Zambia 1-2 Zimbabwe

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Zimbabwe 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2 6

South Africa 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4

Namibia 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1

Zambia 2 0 0 2 1 3 -2 0 .

The third day of football at the 2012 Zone VI Games featured just four matches as the men’s Under-17 and women’s Under-20 tournaments continued in Lusaka, Zambia.

In the men’s competition, Malawi beat Seychelles 5-0 to bring themselves back into contention for a semifinal place in Group A.

Lovemore Jere put the Malawians into a 1-0 halftime lead, before they stepped it up in the second period to net four more times in a 15-minute spell through Wongani Kuchisanja, Thokozani Harrison, Lessman Singini and Abraham Kamwendo.

The result leaves Malawi in third, three points behind South Africa and Zambia, who each have two wins from two.

In Group B, Lesotho and Mauritius played to a 1-1 draw. Jeremie Jeannette put Mauritius ahead early in the second half, but 10 minutes later Lesotho were level through Tumelo Khutlang, his second goal of the competition.

The men’s action continues on Monday when Zambia and South Africa clash in Group A at the Nkoloma Stadium at 17h00, before which Namibia and Mauritius meet in Group B at the same venue at 14h00.

Malawi and Botswana do battle in Group A at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 11h00, while Angola and Swaziland are in action at the same venue at 15h00.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day. The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Nkoloma Stadium.

The women’s Under-20 competition continued on Sunday as host Zambia were beaten 2-1 by Zimbabwe, despite taking the lead.

Zimbabwe made it two wins from two though as they fought back from a goal down to seal the win and stay at the top of the women’s pool.

South Africa is second after they were held 0-0 by Namibia, who earned their first point of the campaign. South Africa had earlier also defeated Zambia.

The action continues on Tuesday when Zimbabwe play South Africa at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 13h00, while Zambia and Namibia meet at the same venue at 16h00.

The semi-finals in the women’s Under-20 competition feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the bottom side, while second meets third. The third-place play-off will be played on December 14, with the final scheduled for the Nkoloma Stadium on December 16.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Friday, December 7

Zambia 2-0 Botswana

South Africa 4-0 Malawi

Saturday, December 8

South Africa 3-2 Botswana

Zambia 1-0 Seychelles

Sunday, December 9

Malawi 5-0 Seychelles

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 2 2 0 0 7 2 +5 6

Zambia 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6

Malawi 2 1 0 1 5 4 +1 3

Botswana 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0

Seychelles 2 0 0 2 0 6 -6 0

GROUP B

Friday, December 7

Angola 0-0 Namibia

Swaziland 4-2 Mauritius

Saturday, December 8

Namibia 1-0 Swaziland

Lesotho 2-0 Angola

Sunday, December 9

Mauritius 1-1 Lesotho

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Lesotho 2 1 1 0 3 1 +2 4

Namibia 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4

Swaziland 2 1 0 0 4 3 -1 3

Mauritius 2 0 1 1 3 5 -2 1

Angola 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2 1

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Friday, December 7

Zimbabwe 2-1 Namibia

Zambia 0-1 South Africa

Sunday, December 9

South Africa 0-0 Namibia

Zambia 1-2 Zimbabwe

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Zimbabwe 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2 6

South Africa 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4

Namibia 2 0 1 1 1 2 -1 1 .

The second day of football at the 2012 Zone VI U20 Games provided more thrilling action as the men’s Undcer-17 competition took centre-stage in Lusaka, Zambia.

South Africa came back from 2-1 down at halftime to defeat Botswana 3-2 and maintain their 100 percent start to the competition in Group A.

Thatayaone Ramatlapeng scored twice in the first half to give Botswana the advantage, but a brace from Nhlakanipho Ntuli and a further goal from Fagrie Lakay gave South Africa the win. Ntuli also moved to the top of the goal-scorers charts having also netted twice in the opening day win over Malawi on Friday.

In the other match in Group A, hosts Zambia defeated Seychelles 1-0 to make it two wins from two for them as well. A second half penalty after a Seychelles handball was enough to seal the win.

In Group B, Lesotho defeated Angola in their opening game of the competition after a brace of goals from Tumelo Khutlang.

Namibia beat Swaziland 1-0 in the day’s other match in the pool as substitute Uaseuako Katjiukua scored the only goal of the game.

There are two more games in men’s Under-17 competition on Sunday as Malawi take on Seychelles in Group A at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 11h00. In Group B, Mauritius will play Lesotho at the same venue, with that match kicking off at 15h00.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day. The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Zanaco Sunset Stadium.

The women’s Under-20 competition continues on Sunday as South Africa play Namibia at the Nkoloma Stadium at 15h00. South Africa beat Zambia 1-0 in their opener on Friday, while Namibia lost to Zimbabwe.

The second game of the day sees hosts Zambia take on Zimbabwe at the same venue from 18h00. Zambia will be desperate to get points on the board in their second outing.

The semi-finals in the women’s Under-20 competition feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the bottom side, while second meets third. The third-place play-off will be played on December 14, with the final scheduled for the Nkoloma Stadium on December 16.

The football competitions at the Zone VI U20 Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Friday, December 7

Zambia 2-0 Botswana

South Africa 4-0 Malawi

Saturday, December 8

South Africa 3-2 Botswana

Zambia 1-0 Seychelles

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 2 2 0 0 7 2 +5 6

Zambia 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6

Seychelles 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Botswana 2 0 0 2 2 5 -3 0

Malawi 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

GROUP B

Friday, December 7

Angola 0-0 Namibia

Swaziland 4-2 Mauritius

Saturday, December 8

Namibia 1-0 Swaziland

Lesotho 2-0 Angola

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Namibia 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4

Lesotho 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3

Swaziland 2 1 0 0 4 3 -1 3

Angola 2 0 1 1 0 2 -2 1

Mauritius 1 0 0 1 2 4 -2 0

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Friday, December 7

Zimbabwe 2-1 Namibia

Zambia 0-1 South Africa

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3

South Africa 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3

Zambia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Namibia 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 .

Hosts Zambia got their campaign in the men’s Under-17 football competition at the Zone VI Games off to the perfect start on Friday with a 2-0 win over Botswana in their Group A clash.

Boyd Mkandawire put the home side 1-0 up on 27 minutes, before Chibuye Mulilo added a second a minute before halftime. There were no goals in the second period, but it was a satisfactory start for the home team.

In the other game in Group A on Friday, South Africa also made a promising start as they beat Malawi 4-0. Shakes Mahasba’s side led 2-0 at the break and were always in control of the game.

Bongani Khanyile gave them a seventh minute lead, before Nhlakanipho Ntuli added a second two minutes before the break. The points were made safe when Ayabulela Magqwaka added a third on 53 minutes, and Ntuli scored his second and South Africa’s fourth midway through the second period.

Angola and Namibia played to a 0-0 draw in Group B, with both teams wasting numerous chances to grab the points.

But Swaziland beat Mauritius 4-2 in the other match in the pool to go top of the group ahead of the second round of matches.

Namibia and Swaziland get the action under way at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 11h00 on Saturday in their Group B clash, before Botswana and South Africa clash at 14h00 in Group A at the Nkoloma Stadium.

Lesotho play their first game of the tournament when they take on Angola at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium at 15h00, while the day’s action is complete with a match between Zambia and Seychelles at Nkoloma at 17h00.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day.

The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Zanaco Sunset Stadium from 15h00.

Meanwhile in the early game in the women’s Under-20 competition on Friday, Zimbabwe defeated Namibia 2-1 to get their campaign off to a positive start.

Hosts Zambia lost 1-0 to South Africa, but were unlucky in the match having hit the post and had a goal ruled out in the second period.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).



GROUP A

Friday, December 7

Zambia 2-0 Botswana

South Africa 4-0 Malawi

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3

Zambia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3

Seychelles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Botswana 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

Malawi 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

GROUP B

Friday, December 7

Angola 0-0 Namibia

Swaziland 4-2 Mauritius

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Mauritius 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 3

Angola 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Namibia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Lesotho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Swaziland 1 0 0 1 2 4 -2 0

WOMEN’S UNDER-20 COMPETITION

Friday, December 7

Zimbabwe 2-1 Namibia

Zambia 0-1 South Africa

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Zimbabwe 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3

South Africa 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3

Zambia 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0

Namibia 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0 .

Hosts Zambia got their campaign in the men’s Under-17 football competition at the Zone VI Games off to the perfect start on Friday with a 2-0 win over Botswana in their Group A clash.

Boyd Mkandawire put the home side 1-0 up on 27 minutes, before Chibuye Mulilo added a second a minute before halftime. There were no goals in the second period, but it was a satisfactory start for the home team.

In the other game in Group A on Friday, South Africa also made a promising start as they beat Malawi 4-0. Shakes Mahasba’s side led 2-0 at the break and were always in control of the game.

Bongani Khanyile gave them a seventh minute lead, before Nhlakanipho Ntuli added a second two minutes before the break. The points were made safe when Ayabulela Magqwaka added a third on 53 minutes, and Ntuli scored his second and South Africa’s fourth midway through the second period.

Angola and Namibia played to a 0-0 draw in Group B, with both teams wasting numerous chances to grab the points.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day.

The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Zanaco Sunset Stadium from 15h00.

Meanwhile in the early game in the women’s Under-20 competition on Friday, Zimbabwe defeated Namibia 2-1. Zambia and South Africa took centre-stage in the night game.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games are being run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

MEN’S UNDER-17 COMPETITION

GROUP A

Zambia 2-0 Botswana

South Africa 4-0 Malawi

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

South Africa 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3

Zambia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3

Seychelles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Botswana 1 0 0 1 0 2 -2 0

Malawi 1 0 0 1 0 4 -4 0

GROUP B

Angola 0-0 Namibia

Swaziland vs Mauritius

Country P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Angola 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Namibia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

Lesotho 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mauritius 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Swaziland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .

Friday saw the start of a Youth Coaching Course for aspiring tacticians from around Zambia, arranged by FIFA and the Council for Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA).

The course, specifically tailored for men’s and women’s football, has been specially designed to give the participants the latest trends in youth coaching and arm them with the knowledge to develop youngsters for the Zambian national side over the coming decades.

The course is being run to coincide with the Zone VI Games that are being stages in Lusaka from December 7-17, with COSAFA managing the men’s Under-17 and women’s Under-20 football tournaments.

The participants in the youth coaching course will be led by highly-regarded FIFA Instructors Ulric Mathiot from the Seychelles for the men and South Africa’s Fran Hilton-Smith for the women.

“We are delighted to be able to present this opportunity to the coaches and to show our commitment to develop football throughout the COSAFA region. We have two excellent FIFA Instructors to lead the course and we are sure that the benefits of these five days will be felt long after the course is complete. Zambia has proven over the years to have excellent talent in the country, culminating in their crowning as African champions at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. This course will help develop the next generation of stars for the men’s and women’s sides,” says COSAFA secretary-general Sue Destombes.

The course runs from December 7-12 and as part of the curriculum, coaches will attend matches at the Zone V U20 Games.

The Women’s Under-20 football tournament at the 2012 Zone VI Games gets underway this Friday in Lusaka, Zambia.

The football competitions at the Zone VI Games will be run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA), who will bring their expertise to the event and count this as their regional champion ship in this age-group for 2012.

The women’s Under-20 tournament will be contested between hosts Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, with each team facing the other in a round-robin format.

The first round of fixtures will be played at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka on Friday, when Zimbabwe take on Namibia at 13h00 and Zambia meet South Africa at the same venue at 20h00.

South Africa have a number of players with senior international experience in their squad and will hope to do well at the even under coach Sheryl Botes.

Namibia have warmed-up well for the competition when their women’s Under-20 side won the NFA DFB Women’s Super Cup at the weekend, beating Challengers 8-0 in the final.

Zimbabwe are the defending champions after they won Gold at the 2009 Games in Swaziland and must be considered contenders again.

Home soil will be a big boost for Zambia, who always put out competitive teams at whatever level of international football they compete.

The semi-finals feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the bottom side in the semi-finals, while second meets third. The third-place play-off will be played on December 14, with the final scheduled for the Nkoloma Stadium on December 16.

FOOTBALL FIXTURES (MEN) FOR SCSCA ZONE VI GAMES, ZAMBIA 2012

Calendrier du tournoi du ZONE VI GAMES, ZAMBIE 2012

No Match Gp Date K.O. time Venue/Lieu:

1. ZAMBIA V BOTSWANA A 07.12.12 10:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

2. ANGOLA V NAMIBIA B 07.12.12 10:00HRS NKOLOMA

3. SOUTH AFRICA V MALAWI A 07.12.12 12:30HRS ZANACO SUNSET

4. SWAZILAND V MAURITIUS B 07.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

5. BOTSWANA V SOUTH AFRICA A 08.12.12 14::00HRS NKOLOMA

6. SEYCHELLES V ZAMBIA A 08.12.12 17:00HRS NKOLOMA

7. NAMIBIA V SWAZILAND B 08.12.12 11:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

8. LESOTHO V ANGOLA B 08.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

9. MALAWI V SEYCHELLES A 09.12.12 11:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

10. MAURITIUS V LESOTHO B 09.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

11. NAMIBIA V MAURITIUS B 10.12.12 14:00HRS NKOLOMA

12. ZAMBIA V SOUTH AFRICA A 10.12.12 17:00HRS NKOLOMA

13. BOTSWANA V MALAWI A 10.12.12 11:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

14. ANGOLA V SWAZILAND B 10.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

15. LESOTHO V NAMIBIA B 11.12.12 14:00HRS NKOLOMA

16. SEYCHELLES V BOTSWANA A 11.12.12 17:00HRS NKOLOMA

17. SWAZILAND V LESOTHO B 12.12.12 11:00HRS NKOLOMA

18. SOUTH AFRICA V SEYCHELLES A 12.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

19. ANGOLA V MAURITIUS B 12.12.12 11:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

20. ZAMBIA V MALAWI A 12.12.12 15:00HRS NKOLOMA

Semi-Finals/½ Finale

21. 1st Group A V 2nd Group B 14.12.12 13:00HRS NKOLOMA

22. 1st Group B V 2nd Group A 14.12.12 16:00HRS NKOLOMA

3rd Place match/Match de classement

23. Losers: Match 21 v Losers: Match 22 15.12.12 15:00HRS ZANACO SUNSET

Final match/Match finale

24. Winners: Match 21 v Winners: Match 22 16.12.12 14:30HRS NKOLOMA

The opening round of fixtures in the men’s Under-17 football competition at the Zone VI Games gets under way in Lusaka, Zambia on Friday.

The highly-anticipated tournament features the best of the young talent in the Southern African region and provides a glimpse at potential future national team stars from the competition nations.

The Football competition is being run under the guidance of the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) and the winners will be crowned champions of the region for 2012.

The competition is likely to be fierce and will attract scouts from around the region and beyond to the Nkoloma and Zanaco Sunset stadiums in Lusaka.

The men’s Under-17 competition features 10 nations split into two pools of five teams. Group A consists of hosts Zambia, South Africa, Malawi, Botswana and Seychelles, while Group B sees Angola, Namibia, Swaziland, Mauritius and Lesotho meet.

The competition opens as host Zambia tackle Botswana at the Zanaco Sunset Stadium on Friday (10h00) in Group A. The other match in the pool between South Africa and Malawi takes place at the same venue (12h30).

Before then, Angola and Namibia meet in Group B at Nkoloma Stadium (10h00), while Swaziland and Mauritius complete the day’s action in the pool, also at the Nkoloma Stadium (15h00).

The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day. The winning semifinalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Zanaco Sunset Stadium from 14h30.

The South African Women’s Under-20 side has named their squad for the 2012 Zone VI U20 Games to be staged in Zambia from December 7-16. ‘Basetsana’ begin their camp for the competition on December 2 ahead of their opening fixture against hosts Zambia five days later.

The side is coached by former Banyana Banyana star Sheryl Botes, who will be hoping to quickly brush off some rustiness after a lengthy period of inactivity for the team. “It has been a while since this team has played, so I am happy we got this opportunity to play on a competitive stage and we are looking forward to this event,” Botes says.

“It is important that the players get as much international experience as possible. This outing will help us prepare well for the [2014] World Cup qualifiers which will begin in October next year.

“We want to do well in this tournament and we will be drawing some inspiration from Banyana Banyana, who went to the London Olympics, and also finished second in the CAF African Women’s Championship recently. Our aim is to reach the final, but if we don’t, we should not look at it as failure but an ideal work out.”

Botes has been boosted by the return of Banyana international Robyn Moodaly to the squad, along with Nomvula Kgoale.

The women’s competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games is being managed by the 2012 Zone VI Games, who are using the tournament as their regional championship. Four nations have entered and will compete in a round-robin competition to determine their placing, before the semifinals and finals are played.

After Zambia, Basetsana will face Namibia on December 9 and Zimbabwe on December 11.

The semi-finals feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the bottom side in the semifinals, while second meets third. The final will be played on December 16.

The majority of the South African players come from the highly successful High Performance Centre at the University of Pretoria, which has helped to change the fortunes of women’s football in South Africa over the past five or so years.

South Africa Women’s Under-20 Squad for 2012 Zone VI Games:

Goalkeepers: Kaylin Swart (High Performance Centre), Katlego Moletsane (High Performance Centre), Tarryn-Lee Davids (High Performance Centre)

Defenders: Vuyo Mkhabela (Western University FC), Regina Mogololo (High Performance Centre), Alice Khosa (High Performance Centre), Meagan Newman (High Performance Centre), Nomonde Nomtsheke (Bloemfrontein Celtic Ladies), Chamelle Wiltshire (High Performance Centre)

Midfielders: Jabulile Mazibuko (Alexandra Ladies FC), Maphuti Manamela (University of Johannesburg), Nomvula Kgoale (High Performance Centre), Rachel Sebati (Mphahlele FC), Christelene Jantjies (Cape Town Spurs FC), Tshegofatse Makinta (Home Sweepers FC), Kelso Peskin (High Performance Centre)

Strikers: Shiwe Nogwanya (Royal Ladies FC), Robyn Moodaly (High Performance Centre), Mosili Makhoali (High Performance Centre), Thembi Kgatlane (High Performance Centre)

On standby: Koketso Mamabolo (High Performance Centre), Portia Mthethwa (Newcastle Ladies FC).

Mozambique will take a 22-man squad to the Seychelles for the return leg of the African Nations Championship qualifier against fellow COSAFA member Seychelles on December 16.

Mozambique lead 4-0 from the first leg in Maputo last weekend.

Coach Gert Engels’ squad will depart for the Seychelles on Sunday and have five days to prepare.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Acacio (Maxaquene), Germano (Ferroviario Gaza), Nelson, Pinto (both Ferroviario Maputo)

Defenders: Chico (Ferroviario Maputo), Dito (Costa do Sol), Gabito (Maxaquene), Reinildo (Ferroviario Beira), Zainadine Junior (both Desportivo Maputo)

Midfielders: Aurio (Desportivo Maputo), Diogo, Imo (both Ferroviario Maputo), Kito (Maxaquene), Lanito (Desportivo Maputo), Manuelito II (Costa do Sol), Momed Hagi (Liga Muculmana), Ped (Desportivo Maputo).

Strikers: Helder Pelembe (Maxaquene), Manucho (Ferroviario Maputo), Mario (Ferroviario Beira), Reginaldo (Costa do Sol).

German Klaus Dieters Pagels has been named as Zimbabwe’s new coach, appointed until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The cash-strapped Zimbabwe Football Association have moved the 63-year-old across from his duties as technical advisor to the association. He has been working on the training coaches and developing rural football in Zimbabwe for the last three years as part of a German development aid project. His contract, financed by the German government, runs until July but Zimbabwe want him to finish their World Cup qualifying campaign, which ends in September. Zimbabwe have just a single point from their first two matches in Group G against Mozambique and Guinea and next play favourites Egypt away in March. Pagels, who has no experienced at major club or country level, takes over from Rahman Gumbo, who resigned last week after Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for the 2013 African Nations Cup finals.

Mozambique have begun their preparations for their African Nations Championship qualifier against fellow COSAFA member Seychelles in December by calling up an initial 18-man squad for training.

Coach Gert Engels’ home-based squad features several new call-ups and will be working over the next weeks at the Liga Muculmana club in Maputo.

The tie is being played over two legs with the first match in the Mozambique capital on december8.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Germano (Ferroviario Gaza), Pinto (Ferroviario Maputo)

Defenders: Acacio (Maxaquene), Aurio (Desportivo Maputo), Chico (Ferroviario Maputo), Gabito (Maxaquene), Joao Aguiar (Liga Muculmana), Joao Mazive, Manuelito I (both Costa do Sol), Reinildo (Ferroviario Beira), Sidique, Zainadine Junior (both Desportivo Maputo)

Midfielders: Diogo, Imo (both Ferroviario Maputo), Kito (Maxaquene), Lanito (Desportivo Maputo), Manuelito II (Costa do Sol), Momed Hagi (Liga Muculmana), Ruben (Costa do Sol), Telinho (Liga Muculmana).

Strikers: Helder Pelembe (Maxaquene), Jojo (Desportivo Maputo), Manucho Ferroviario Maputo), Mario (Ferroviario Beira), Reginaldo (Costa do Sol), Sonito (Liga Muculmana).

Dynamos secured the league and cup double in Zimbabwe for a second successive year by winning the country’s FA Cup on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Monomotapa in the final at the Rufaro Stadium.

It follows on league success just one week earlier when they pipped arch rivals Highlanders on goal difference to take the championship.

Rodrick Mutuma scored both goals for the Harare giants, one of them created by had former Mamelodi Sundowns player Simba Sithole In Mozambique, Liga Muculmana won the country’s cup competition for the first time by beating Costa so Sol 1-0 on the final.

Telinho scored the only goal of the game in which Costa do Sol’s coach Diamantino Miranda, the former Portugal international, was sent off.

The draw has been made for the football competition at the 2012 Zone VI U20 Games to be staged in Lusaka, Zambia from December 7-16.

The Games will feature a 10-team men’s Under-17 competition and a four-team women’s Under-20 event that will serve as the Southern African championships in these age-groups for this year.

The football competitions at the Zone VI U20 Games will be run by the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA), who will bring their expertise to the event.

The men’s competition sees the 10 countries split into two groups of five teams. Group A consists of hosts Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, Malawi, and Seychelles, while Group B sees Angola, Namibia, Swaziland, Mauritius and Lesotho meet.

The matches will be played at the Nkoloma Stadium and Zanaco Sunset Stadium in Lusaka and kick-off on December 7. The top two teams in each pool advance to the semi-finals, to be played on December 14, with the third-place play-off scheduled for the following day.

The winning semi-finalists will meet in the decider on December 16 at Nkoloma Stadium from 15h00.

The women’s competition features hosts Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and will be played in a single pool round-robin format.

The semi-finals feature the team that finishes first in the pool take on the third placed side in the semi-finals, while second meets fourth. The third-place play-off will be played on December 14, with the final scheduled for the Nkoloma Stadium on December 16.

The fixtures for the men’s Under-17 competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games:

NO TEAMS POOL DATE KICK-OFF VENUE

1. Zambia vs. Botswana A 07.12.12 10h00 Nkoloma

2. Angola vs. Namibia B 07.12.12 10h00 Zanaco Sunset

3. South Africa vs. Malawi A 07.12.12 12h30 Zanaco Sunset

4. Swaziland vs. Mauritius B 07.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

5. Botswana vs. South Africa A 08.12.12 14h00 Nkoloma

6. Seychelles vs. Zambia A 08.12.12 17h00 Nkoloma

7. Namibia vs. Swaziland B 08.12.12 11h00 Zanaco Sunset

8. Lesotho vs. Angola B 08.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

9. Malawi vs. Seychelles A 09.12.12 11h00 Zanaco Sunset

10. Mauritius vs. Lesotho B 09.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

11. Namibia vs. Mauritius B 10.12.12 14h00 Nkoloma

12. Zambia vs. South Africa A 10.12.12 17h00 Nkoloma

13. Botswana vs. Malawi A 10.12.12 11h00 Zanaco Sunset

14. Angola vs. Swaziland B 10.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

15. Lesotho vs. Namibia B 11.12.12 14h00 Nkoloma

16. Seychelles vs. Botswana A 11.12.12 17h00 Nkoloma

17. Swaziland vs. Lesotho B 12.12.12 11h00 Nkoloma

18. South Africa vs. Seychelles A 12.12.12 15h00 Nkoloma

19. Angola vs. Mauritius B 12.12.12 11h00 Zanaco Sunset

20. Zambia vs. Malawi A 12.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

SEMI-FINALS

21. 1st Group A vs. 2nd Group B 14.12.12 13h00 Nkoloma

22. 1st Group B vs. 2nd Group A 14.12.12 16h00 Nkoloma

THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF

23. Loser 21 vs. Loser 22 15.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

FINAL

24. Winner 21 vs. Winner 22 16.12.12 14h30 Nkoloma

The fixtures for the women’s Under-20 competition at the 2012 Zone VI Games:

NO TEAMS POOL DATE KICK-OFF VENUE

1. Zimbabwe vs. Namibia A 07.12.12 13h00 Nkoloma

2. Zambia vs. South Africa A 07.12.12 20h00 Nkoloma

3. South Africa vs. Namibia A 09.12.12 15h00 Nkoloma

4. Zambia vs. Zimbabwe A 09.12.12 18h00 Nkoloma

5. Zimbabwe vs. South Africa A 11.12.12 13h00 Zanaco Sunset

6. Namibia vs. Zambia A 11.12.12 16h00 Zanaco Sunset

SEMI-FINALS

7. 1st vs. 3rd 13.12.12 11h00 Zanaco Sunset

8. 2nd vs. 4th 13.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF

9. Loser 7 vs. Loser 8 14.12.12 15h00 Zanaco Sunset

FINAL

10. Winner 7 vs. Winner 8 16.12.12 11h00 Nkoloma

Zimbabwe coach Rahman Gumbo has resigned after his country’s failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup finals, Zimbabwe Football Association officials confirmed on Saturday. He departs more than a month after Zimbabwe were eliminated on the away goals rule by Angola in their final round qualifying tie. Zimbabwe had won the first leg 3-1 at home in September and were fancied to qualify for the 2013 finals, being hosted in neighbouring South Africa, for the first time since 2006. But they conceded two goals in the first 10 minutes of their return match in Luanda in mid-October and went out after a 3-3 aggregate draw. Gumbo had been in the job since January when he took over from Norman Mapeza, who was suspended for his alleged role in the country’s long-running match-fixing saga, dubbed ‘Asiagate’. It was Gumbo’s second spell in charge of the national team. Officials said a replacement could be named as early as Tuesday.

Angola coach Gustavo Ferrin has announced a mostly locally-based squad of players to begin camping ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. The Angolans will go to into camp in Lubango from December 4-23, though many of the players will have medical assessments starting next week. The only player from outside Angola selected at this stage is Gerard from the Paraná Clube of Brazil. There is also a return for midfielder Mabina, who has been on the sidelines of the national side for the last 11 months. The rest of the overseas-based players are expected to arrive in camp in Johannesburg from January 4. Angola training squad: Mabina, Miguel Bastos, Lama, Matthew and Vado (all Petro de Luanda), Mingo Bille, Dany Massunguna, Amaro, Manucho Dinis, Ary Paper, Paizo and Neblu (all Primeiro di Agosto), Fabricio, Paty and Pirolito (all Interclube), Vado (Recreativo da Caála), and Lunguinha Kibeicha (Kabuscorp do Palanca), Manuel (ASA), Yano and Ito (both Progresso do Sambizanga), Landu (Recreativo do Libolo) and Gerard (Paraná Clube of Brazil).

The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) remains committed to the development of football in the region, despite the fact that the COSAFA Under-20 Championships will not be staged this year.

But COSAFA will instead be organising the men’s Under-17 football tournament at the 2012 Zone VI U20 Games to be staged in Lusaka, Zambia from December 7-16 December 2012. COSAFA will also manage the women’s Under-20 tournament at the Games.

“We are fully committed to the development of football in the COSAFA region and realise the importance of staging junior championships to assist in the nurturing of this talent. The COSAFA Under-20 Championships has grown enormously in stature over the last five years and we look forward to bringing the tournament back into our calendar shortly. In the meantime, we are looking forward to an excellent Zone VI U20 Games and trust that the football competitions in Zambia will be of the usual high standard and of great enjoyment for those who participate,” says Suketu Patel, COSAFA President.

Meanwhile FIFA, together with COSAFA, will conduct a Youth Coaching course for both male and female coaches in Lusaka, Zambia during the Zone VI U20 Games. The aim is to improve the quality of coaches in the region, who then pass their new-found skills on to the youngsters under their guidance. The courses will be run by FIFA Instructors Ulrich Mathiot from Seychelles and Fran Hilton-Smith from South Africa. The Referees appointed by COSAFA are those added to the FIFA panel for 2013 and come recommended by the FIFA Referees’ Development Officer for southern Africa. They too will be put through their paces ahead of the start of the Football competitions with Fitness Tests as well as a Refresher Course conducted by the FIFA Instructors in Zambia. Both Football competitions at the Zone VI U20 Games will kick-off on December 7 at the Nkoloma Stadium, with the finals to be staged on December 16 at the same venue.

The men’s competition will see the teams split into two groups, of five teams each after Mozambique and Zimbabwe withdrew their Men’s teams from their travelling party.

The teams will play each other in a round-robin format with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the semi-finals.

The women’s competition has four countries, which will all play one another in a round-robin format, before heading to the semi-finals. The team that finishes top will take on the third-place side, while the second-placed nation will play the country that finishes fourth in the pool.

Both finals will be played on December 16.

Harare club Dynamos retained their Zimbabwe premier league title on Sunday, drawing their last game of the season to take the championship by the narrowest of margins. They shaded traditional rivals Highlanders from the country’s second city Bulawayo on goal difference after both finished on 69 points. Dynamos were two points ahead and playing already relegated Hardbody going into Sunday’s last round of matches but seemed to get stage fright and were held to 1-1 draw. Highlanders who lost just one game all season, won 2-0 at home to Blue Rangers but could not overhaul Dynamos on goal difference. Dynamos extend to 20 the record number of league championships they have won in Zimbabwe.

Botswana’s under-17 side were held to as 1-1 draw at home by Algeria while South Africa went down 3-2 to Ghana, leaving both Cosafa countries underdogs to qualify for next year’s African championship.

Botswana had the lead at the Molepolole Stadium over Algeria but gave away a 75th minute equaliser.

The Young Zebras now face an uphill struggle in the return in Algiers on December 2.

Ghana won 3-2 at Daveyton after leading 2-0 at half-time through goals from Paul Asare de Vries and David Atanga.

Morne Nel reduced the deficit early in the second half but Ghana recovered quickly and restored their two-goal lead with the second goal of the day from Asare de Vries.

With three minutes left on the clock, Amajimbos pulled one back through second half substitute Siyanda Ngcobo but they face a massive task in the return in Ghana.

Just two Cosafa member countries will be in action in the second round of the African U-17 Championship qualifiers at the weekend.

Botswana host Algeria at Molepolele in the first leg of their tie, having narrowly eliminated Rwanda on post-match penalties in the previous round.

South Africa, who won away to eliminate Zambia in the previous round, are also at home in their first leg of their tie. The match is in Soweto at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday.

The Amajimbos are handled by former Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim Mashaba.

The aggregate winners qualify for next year’s championship in Morocco.

Zimbabwe were eliminated after failing to travel for the second leg of their tie against Congo while Angola lost to Gabon, and Namibia were beaten 7-0 on aggregate by holders Burkina Faso.

Zanaco won the Zambia Super League on Saturday, overhauling defending champions Power Dynamos on the final day of the season. Zanaco finished with 61 points to 59 for Dynamos, who lost 1-0 away to Red Arrows to let slip their hopes of retaining the title.

It allowed Zanaco to overhaul them with a come-from-behind 3-1 away win over Nkana FC and book a place in next year’s African Champions League.

It is Zanaco’s sixth championship in the last decade.

Banyana recorded a first-ever victory over Nigeria in Wednesday’s semifinal to book a date with hosts Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.

SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani has congratulated Banyana Banyana on reaching the 2012 African Women’s Championship final.

Banyana recorded a first-ever victory over Nigeria in Wednesday’s semifinal to book a date with hosts Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.

“That was a fantastic result and we now hope to go all the way and capture the title on Sunday. Banyana Banyana have really become a prestigious South African brand and as predicted, the Olympics experience is starting to tell,” said Nematandani.

“Nigeria has always gotten the better of our girls and Wednesday’s win should herald a new era for women’s football in our country. The victory should open doors for the growth of women soccer. Well done to the girls for making the country proud.”

Banyana Banyana head coach Joseph Mkhonza, who took charge of the side after the national team’s bronze medal finish at the 2010 African Women’s Championship, remarked:

“We have come a long way since winning the bronze medal in Ekurhuleni in 2010. We know that past reputations count for nothing as we have seen our first ever win against Nigeria so anything is possible. We are in a very positive frame of mind going into the final game against the hosts but we are still focussed on attaining our mission of taking gold in this tournament. We came here with a mission and that mission is still on track,” said Mkhonza.

Nobody in the Banyana Banyana camp had a bigger smile than central defender Janine van Wyk, whose stunning 23rd minute left footed strike from 25 metres broke the Nigerians’ hearts, giving South Africa their first ever win over Africa’s number one ranked side since 1993. Nigeria has won the CAF tournament six times.

“At the African Championship held in South Africa in 2010 I scored with a free kick from 35 metres out against Nigeria, and my team-mates always remind me that I normally reserve my best for matches against Nigeria,” she laughed.

“I have been in this squad since 2004 and have played 90 times for the national team, so to be in the team that defeated Nigeria for the first time leaves an amazing feeling that I will cherish forever.”

Maxaquene secured the Mozambican league title on Sunday two rounds before the end of this year’s championship, local media reported on Monday. The airline club’s 1-0 home win over Textil Pungue, combined with an away draw for their closest challengers Ferroviario Maputo, means they have a six point lead with two games to go. But because Maxaquene beat Ferroviario twice in their head-to-head meetings this season they win the league even if Ferroviario catch up to them on points by the end of the season. It is Maxaquene’s first title since 2003 and their fifth overall since Mozambique won independence in 1975. The Maputo-based club qualify to play in next year’s African Champions League.

South Africa sealed their place in the semifinals of the African Women’s Championships with a 4-1 win over DR Congo on Saturday evening. A hat-trick of goals from tall Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies striker Andisiwe Mgcoyi paved the way for a win that has set Banyana Banyana up for a possible semifinal meeting with Nigeria on Wednesday.

Cape Town Roses attacker Leandra Smeda – brought into the side on the right wing in place of Nocawe Skiti – put the South Africans ahead in the 3rd minute as she tapped home a square ball range, delivered by team captain Amanda Dlamini. Seven minutes later, Mgcoyi had an easy tap-in goal, finishing off a cross from the right from striker Jermaine Seoposenwe. The South Africans could easily have been 5-0 by the break, but increased their advantage in the second half. Mgcoyi carved a cross through the Congolese defence before firing home three minutes after the break, and scored again from close range in the 57th minute. The Congolese scored a consolation goal against the run of play in the 88th minute via defender Jolie Tutzolana who fired the ball home from the edge of the area, with South African goalkeeper Thoko Mnadweni having no chance of pulling off a save.

Banyana Banyana went into the game needing a draw or win to secure their spot in the semifinals, but national head coach Joseph Mkhonza can be proud of the effort put in by his players on the slippery Nkoantoma stadium surface following light rain leading up to the match.

"We have now qualified for the knock-out stages of the competition, for us this means anything is possible. Any team that has made it to the semi-finals as a chance of proceeding to the final stage of the tournament. "We came to this tournament knowing at some stage that we would meet one of the power houses of women's football on the continent. If you have to be the best, you have to play the best. We are here to make a statement." said Banyana Banyana head coach, Joseph Mkhonza. Banyana Banyana captain, Amanda Dlamini has said making it this far in the tournament would mean facing some of the strongest teams on the continent but feels they are up for that challenge and make it as far in the competition.

"Coming into this tournament we knew if we wanted to compete in the semi-finals, we are bound to meet the African power houses of Women's football. Now that we've made it this far in the tournament, we want to play our own game taking into fact that we will face tough opposition being amongst the top four." said Dlamini.

Zambia have named their squad to meet Bafana Bafana in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at Soccer City in Johannesburg on November 14.

The match serves as a warm-up for both sides as they build towards the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations ,to be hosted by South Africa.

Coach Herve Renard has stuck with his tried and trusted but Orlando Pirates striker Collins Mbesuma returns to the squad.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Danny Munyau (Red Arrows), Kennedy Mweene (Free State Stars, South Africa), Joshua Titima (Power Dynamos)

Defenders: Hichani Himoonde (TP Mazembe Englebert, DR Congo), Chintu Kampamba (unattached), Emmanuel Mbola (FC Porto, Portugal), Joseph Musonda (Lamontville Golden Arrows, South Africa), Davies Nkausu (SuperSport United, South Africa), Hichani Himoonde (TP Mazembe Englebert, DR Congo), Stoppila Sunzu (TP Mazembe Englebert, DR Congo)

Midfielders: Isaac Chansa (Henan Jienye, China), Noah Chivuta (Free State Stars, South Africa), Rainford Kalaba (TP Mazembe Englebert, DR Congo), Felix Katongo (Primeiro Agosto, Angola), Chisamba Lungu (FC Urals, Russia), Shadreck Malambo (Zanaco), Mukuka Mulenga (Power Dynamos), William Njobvu (Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Israel), Nathan Sinkala (TP Mazembe Englebert, DR Congo)

Strikers: James Chamanga (Dalian Shide, China), Chris Katongo (Henan Jienye, China), Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton, England), Collins Mbesuma (Orlando Pirates, South Africa), Jacob Mulenga (FC Utrecht, Netherlands) Jonas Sakuwaha (Al Merreikh, Sudan).

The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) will bring its expertise in governance and the organisation of football competitions to the Supreme Council of Sports Associations’ (SCSA) Zone VI Games in Zambia later this year.

COSAFA will organize an 11-team national Under-17 championship and a five-team women’s Under-20 competition to be held in Lusaka from December 7-16, 2012. These will form part of the Zone VI Games, but will also be run as the COSAFA regional championships.

The matches will be played at the Nkoloma and Sunset stadia in Lusaka, with the draw for these competitions to be held on the weekend of November 16-18.

COSAFA chief operations officer Sue Destombes says they are delighted to be administering the competitions and helping to develop age-group football in the region.

“In the past, the bi-annual SCSA Zone VI Games have clashed with and impacted on the COSAFA Under-20 men’s competition which has been an annual event,” Destombes says. “For this reason, COSAFA held talks with SCSA Zone VI leadership and reached an agreement that the men’s football element of the bi-annual Games will be played at Under-17 level, whereas the Women’s competition remains at Under-20. Furthermore, COSAFA would be responsible for the organisation of football during the Games.”

Both football competitions will kick-off on December 7 at the Nkoloma Stadium, with the finals to be staged on December 16 at the same venue.

The men’s competition will see the teams split into three groups, two of whom have four teams and the other three after Mozambique decided not to include an Under-17 side in their travelling party for the Zone VI Games.

The teams will place each other in a round-robin format with the top teams in each pool advancing to the semifinals, along with the best second-place finisher in the groups that have four sides.

The women’s competition has five countries split, who will all play one another in a round-robin format, with the leading four sides heading to the semifinals. The team that finishes top will take on the third-place side, while the second-placed nation will play the country that finishes fourth in the pool.

The final will also be played on December 16, with a third-place play-off taking place the day before.

Hosts South Africa and Angola have been drawn together in the first round of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations to be played from January 19 to February 10.

The COSAFA rivals will meet in their respective second matches of the tournament in Durban on January 23.

South Africa open their campaign against Cape Verde at Soccer City on January 19 and will also play Morocco in Durban on January 27.

Angola take on the Moroccans at Soccer City on January 19, and then move to Port Elizabeth to play Cape Verde in their final match on January 27. Of the other pools, Group B is headed by Ghana, who must play an excellent Mali side who finished third in the 2012 event, and a resurgent DR Congo. Niger are the fourth side in the pool.

Group C contains African champions Zambia, who will expect to advance from this pool along with Nigeria. Those two are the obvious contenders for the quarterfinals, with Burkina Faso flattering to deceive at major finals in the past. Ethiopia are an improved side, but not quite the same force outside of their fortress Addis Ababa.

Group D looks the toughest to call, with Cote d’Ivoire’s Golden Generation that contains talismanic leader Didier Drogba seeking the one prize that has so cruelly eluded them over the past eight or so years.

This is probably their last shot at glory, but they must come through a difficult pool that contains the twin north African threat of Tunisia and Algeria, as well as the unpredictable Togolese.

The South African women’s side say they are ready to represent COSAFA at the 2012 African Women’s Championships to be played in Equatorial Guinea from October 28 to November 11.

The 21-member Banyana Banyana squad is scheduled to fly out of Johannesburg on Friday, to continue their preparations in hot, climatic conditions in Cameroon, before flying to Equatorial Guinea on October 25. Banyana have been drawn in Group A and will face hosts Equatorial Guinea in Malabo on October 28, Senegal in Malabo on October 31, and will travel to Bata for their encounter with DR Congo on November 3.

Qualification from the group stage will see the side play in the semi-finals in either Malabo or Bata on November 7, with the 3rd/4th place playoff and the title decider both scheduled for Malabo on November 11. Banyana Banyana obtained their best placed finish at the CAF African Women Championship 2000, going down 2-0 to hosts Nigeria, and lost 2-1 in the final of the 2008 African showpiece to hosts Equatorial Guinea. At the CAF African Women Championship 2010 held in Ekurhuleni near Johannesburg, the South Africans ended third.

The travelling party includes most of the players who represented South Africa at the London Olympics in July, plus three new caps in the Durban Ladies pair of striker Silindile Ngubane and defender Charlotte Mshengu, plus Women’s Under 17 National Team goalkeeper Katlego Moletsane from the High Performance Centre in Tshwane. Ngubane, who netted the equaliser in South Africa’s 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe in an international friendly played in Daveyton near Johannesburg on Tuesday, has proved her worth with a high work rate and goal-scoring keenness during her two caps as a second half substitute over the past week.

She was drafted into the national team camp at the start of October after being identified at the Sasol League National Championships held in Durban in July where she finished as the tournament’s top goal-scorer, having netted 11 goals for Durban Ladies. “Banyana Banyana go to the CAF African Women Championship 2012 ranked 56th in the world and 4th in Africa with our world ranking having improved by five places after our matches played at the Olympics,” said Banyana Banyana head coach Joseph Mkhonza.

“Safa and Sasol need to be thanked for their commitment in allowing the Banyana Banyana players to stay in camp for the entire October to prepare for the CAF African Women Championship 2012, and we hope that we can do South Africa proud and move a few further spots up the world rankings.”

Two COSAFA nations will join hosts South Africa at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals to be staged next year from January 19-February 10.

The final round of qualifying matches took place over the weekend and there was joy and heartache for the teams involved. African champions Zambia booked their place in South Africa by the tightest of margins after a 9-8 penalty shoot-out win over Uganda.

The two legs both finished 1-0 to the home sides, meaning the tie had to be settled from the spot and Zambia outlasted their rivals in a marathon shoot-out. Angola defeated COSAFA rivals Zimbabwe 2-0 to advance to the finals on the away goals rule having lost 3-1 in the first leg in Harare. A brace of goals from veteran striker Manucho was enough for the win in Luanda and Palancas Negras reach their fifth consecutive finals tournament.

Malawi trailed 2-0 from the first leg of their tie with Ghana and were beaten again by a narrow 1-0 margin in Lilongwe to bow out 3-0 on aggregate.

Mozambique held a 2-0 lead going into the second leg of their clash with Morocco, but came unstuck 4-0 in the return on Saturday. Botswana went into their tie needing to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Mali, but ended up on the losing side again, this time going down 4-1 in Gaborone. Mmusa Ohilwe scored a late consolation for The Zebras.

Cosafa’s interest in next year’s African Youth Championship has ended with the failure of Angola, South Africa and Zambia in the last round of qualifying.

All three countries have missed out on the tournament in Algeria next year as well as a chance to compete in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, later in 2013.

Angola were held to a goalless draw at home by Egypt and go out 2-1 on aggregate in their second round tie.

South Africa lost 3-1 in Nigeria and are eliminated 4-2 on aggregate while Zambia suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat in Bamako against Mali and were beaten 5-2 on aggregate.

The womens sides of COSAFA rivals South Africa and Zimbabwe will meet in an international friendly in Soweto on October 13.

The South Africans will use the match as build-up to their 2012 African Women’s Championship campaign in Equatorial Guinea later this month.

The last time the two nations met was at the Unity Cup clash that took place in Zimbabwe last year – the South Africans went down 3-0 to their hosts.

With seven new players in the squad, national team head coach Joseph Mkhonza has set his focus on beefing up the team ahead of his final selection of players to represent South Africa at the AWC.

Mkhonza will announce his 21-member squad on Tuesday, 09 October 2012.

“We are just weeks away from competing in a highly-ranked competition on the continent, so our goal now is to prepare to take on the best countries on the continent. We are ranked fourth on the continent and we look to claim the number one title. We are not expecting an easy task ahead as all our opponents will try to prove their worth against a team that comes from the Olympics,” said Mkhonza.

“We have taken some positives out of competing on the Olympics level and will be building on from there as we look to qualify for the next world cup. The upcoming game against Zimbabwe will help us gauge our fitness level and help us identify areas that we still need to work before we leave for Equatorial Guinea.”

The AWC starts on October 28, with the final to be played on November 11. South Africa are the only representative from the COSAFA region at the continental finals and have been drawn in Group A along with Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and DR Congo.

COSAFA General secretary Sue Destombes has been awarded the honour of being appointed to FIFA’s development committee.

She was presented with her badge as a FIFA committee member in Zurich last week by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

It is the latest in a list of achievements for Destombes, who served as head of protocol at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and in a similar role at the recent African Nations Cup finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The Confederation of African Football have also appointed her as general co-ordinator for the upcoming African Women’s Championship in Equatorial Guinea.

Recreativo Libolo won a second successive Angolan GiraBola championship on Sunday without even kicking a ball, when the only team that could catch them lost.

The 2-0 defeat of second placed Primeiro Agosto by Petro Atletico in the traditional Luanda ‘classico’ means Recreativo are 10 points clear with three rounds to play. Recreativo hammed relegated-haunted Sporting Cabinda 7-0 on Saturday.

Angola internationals Mabina and Job scored for Petro, who ended the army club’s outside chance of taking the title. Primeiro are still second in the standings, four points clear of Kabuscorp and six clear of Petro.

Vado and Rasca both scored twice and there were late goals from Sydney, Ruben and Viola in a 7-0 thrashing of Sporting. In front of their home fans in Calulo, Libolo were 3-0 up inside the first half-hour. It marked only the second win in the last seven games for the runaway league leaders, whose unbeaten run ended after 26 games last weekend when they lost 4-2 at Santos.

South Africa will play Poland and Kenya in two international friendly matches next month, SAFA have confirmed. Bafana Bafana take on Poland away on October 12, with the match against Kenya to be played in Nairobi on October 16. Bafana coach Gordon Igesund says he is looking forward to the two clashes as part of his bid to put his squad into shape ahead of 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. “Initially I felt it was prudent to play African opposition considering we will be playing in the AFCON tournament in four months’ time. But after seeing the opposition available, I decided Poland was the best option,” said Igesund. “Most of the top African teams are involved in the 2013 AFCON qualifiers, therefore we had no tough opponents to play against. We need to play strong opposition so we can be tested thoroughly, therefore, after considering all options which we had, I have no doubt in my mind that Poland will give us the test that we require.” “We even considered Egypt which is already out of the 2013 AFCON qualifiers, but they are on tour in the United Arab Emirates. They could have been great opposition for us. We are not afraid to lose, that is why we don’t need to play weak opposition. We need to be challenged so we can see where we are. If any of the top African teams were available then it would have been a different ball altogether,” concluded Igesund. The team will leave for Poland on October 8 via Zurich and is expected to arrive in the Polish capital of Warsaw the following day. The team leaves Warsaw on the morning of October 13 for Nairobi via Amsterdam and will arrive in the Kenyan capital on the same day. They will have two days of training before playing the East Africans. Igesund is expected to announce his travelling squad next week.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have released their calendar for the African club competitions in 2013.

The Champions League and Confederation Cup will once again feature clubs from across the COSAFA region hoping to make their mark in the elite competitions.

Both tournaments get under way in mid-February, with the group stages taking place from mid-June. The first leg of the Champions League final will be played on the weekend of November 1-3, with the second leg a week later.

The Confederation Cup final will have its first leg on the weekend of November 22-24, with the return fixture a week later.

2013 CAF Calendar:

15-17 February: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup first round, first leg

1-3 March: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup first round, second leg

22-24 March: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup second round, first leg

5-7 April: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup second round, second leg

19-21 April: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup third round, first leg

3-5 May: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup third round, second leg

19-21 July: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

2-4 August: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

16-18 August: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

30-31 August, 1 September: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

13-15 September: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

20-22 September: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup group matches

4-6 October: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup semifinal, first leg

18-20 October: African Champions League, African Confederation Cup semifinal, second leg

1-3 November: African Champions League final, first leg

8-10 November: African Champions League final, second leg

22-24 November: African Confederation Cup final, first leg

29-30 November, 1 December: African Confederation Cup final, second leg

11-21 December: Club World Cup, Morocco.

Angola’s InterClube, the last club from a Cosafa member country still involved in African club competition this year, were effectively eliminated from the African Confederation Cup after losing in Khartoum on Friday.

Al Hilal of Sudan beat the Luanda-based club 3-0 to stay on course for a Confederation Cup semi-finals place. Inter had reached the last four last year.

All the goals came in the first half from Senegalese Ibrahima Sane and the Sudanese internationals Mudather Al Tayeb and Mohammed Al Tahir.

Al Hilal top of Group A with eight points from four matches but compatriots

Al Merreikh will regain first place in the group and seal a semi-final slot on Sunday if they win away to fellow Sudanese side Al Ahli Shandi.

Inter have a single point from their four group matches.

The draw for the Cosafa zone qualifiers for the next African Nations Championship, to be held in South Africa, has been conducted by the Confederation of African Football in Cairo. Two Cosafa members will qualify for the 16-team finals in 2014

First round Mauritius v Comoros Islands First leg: 30 November, 1-2 December, 2012 Second leg: 14-16 December 2012

Second round Mauritius or Comoros Islands v Zimbabwe Seychelles v Namibia Swaziland v Angola Botswana v Zambia First legs: 21-23 June, 2013 Second legs: 5-7 July, 2013

Third round Winner Mauritius/Comoros Islands/Zimbabwe v Botswana or Zambia Seychelles or Namibia v Botswana or Angola First legs: 26-28 July, 2013 Second legs: 9-11 August, 2013

Natasha Tsichlas made history this week when she was appointed match commissioner for South Africa’s 2-0 friendly win over Mozambique at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Tuesday night. With her appointment, Tsichlas becomes the first female official to serve as a match commissioner for a Bafana Bafana home fixture. “I feel honoured as the first woman to act as a match commissioner for such an important game," said Tsichlas "This is a historic moment for our country and I am hoping this will inspire more women around the country to get involved in soccer and officiating at the highest level. It would also be great for FIFA and our Confederation of African Football (CAF) to acknowledge more women as match commissioners,” she added. South African Football Association (SAFA) President, Kirsten Nematandani said such is an honour for a woman who has dedicated a lot towards football in the country, this is a fitting reward and should work as a catalyst for other women to get involved in various soccer activities. "We as SAFA are happy for Natasha. She has always been a trendsetter and we encourage other female soccer fans to take a cue from her and occupy rightful places within the soccer fraternity, whether it is administration or on the field of play," said Nematandani. SAFA head of referees, Adeel Carelse said Tsichlas' appointment as match commissioner for the game was great for the development of the game among female officials "Her appointment is a sign that we are headed in the right direction with the development of female match commissioners in the country,” said Carelse.

A number of COSAFA sides were in 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier action over the weekend as they seek to win their place at the finals in South Africa from January 19-February 10. Mozambique pulled off an excellent 2-0 home win over a star-studded Morocco side to give themselves a good chance of making the finals. Miro and Dominquez scored to ensure a defendable lead for next month’s return match. Zimbabwe also have a cushion after they beat COSAFA rivals Angola 3-1, scoring liberally in the first half but giving up an away goal near the end of their game in Harare. A bastos own goal and further strikes from Khama Billiat and Archford Gutu put the Warriors in the ascendancy, before Djalma pulled one back for Palancas Negras. African champions Zambia completed a 1-0 home win over Uganda, but will have work to do in the return match in Kampala next month. Chipolopolo took the lead in the 21st minute through captain Christopher Katongo, but could not add further to their tally. Ghana were 2-0 victors over Malawi with goals from Christian Atsu and Anthony Annan, while Mali have completed a 3-0 victory over Botswana in Bamako.

Zambia made a winning to the defence of their African Nations Cup crown after captain Chris Katongo scored the only goal of their home qualifier against Uganda in Ndola on Saturday. But the 1-0 win over Uganda puts them in a precarious position with a return leg to come in Kampala next month to decide a place at the 2013 finals in South Africa. Uganda were denied a late equaliser when Zambia goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene made a key save from Emmanuel Okwi just seven minutes from the end. Katongo, who has now scored in the qualifiers or finals of five successive Nations Cup tournament, had Zambia ahead after 20 minutes. They found the Uganda net again before half-time but the strike was disallowed. Zambia won the last Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon earlier this year. The Nations Cup is usually held every two years but because of a switch from every even to every odd year, it is being played again within 12 months. Zambia and the other 15 finalists from January’s tournament play just a single home and away tie to determine qualification against teams who won an earlier round of knockout matches.

A number of COSAFA sides will be in action this weekend as the final round of qualifying for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations begins. The first legs of the playoff matches are on Saturday and Sunday, and will be completed in October, with the 15 winners from this round of competition joining hosts South Africa at the showpiece event that runs from January 19-February 10. Zimbabwe will host COSAFA rivals Angola on Sunday which will at least ensure one other Southern African representative next year. Angola are looking for a fifth successive visit to the continental finals, while Zimbabwe’s last appearance was in 2006. African champions Zambia host Uganda on Saturday in a potential banana-skin tie for Chipolopolo. The Cranes have not been to the Nations Cup finals since 1978, but have been steadily improving under Scottish coach Bobby Williamson in recent years. Malawi travel to Accra to face Ghana on Sunday hoping to complete what looks an impossible task and repeat their 2010 showing at the finals. The Black Stars will be desperate for a return to South Africa though in the hope of winning a first continental title in 30-years and perhaps banish the memory of their 2010 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal disappointment against Uruguay. Botswana are seeking to reach a second successive finals, which would be quite a feat given that it took them some 42 years to qualify for their first in 2012. They are away in Mali on Saturday, a tough trip against the side who finished third in the last finals. Mozambique host Morocco in the first leg of their qualifier, while Nigeria’s struggling Super Eagles are away in Liberia for a tie that they should still comfortably win. Libya and Algeria meet in neutral Tunisia in a game that pits the teams positioned fifth and second on the latest FIFA Rankings for the African continent. The Algerians’ greater experience should see them return to South African too. Senegal's trip to Abidjan to face Cote d'Ivoire on Saturday is the highlight of the weekend’s matches, though it is a real shame for African football fans that one of these sides will be missing from the finals proper.

The fixture pits two of the powerhouses of the continent together, with Senegal hoping to make amends for their dismal showing at the 2012 finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

African champions Zambia remain the top-ranked COSAFA side after the latest FIFA World Rankings released on Wednesday.

Zambia have slipped to number 42 in the world and eighth on the African continent, well ahead of second-placed South Africa (74th in the world, 19 in Africa).

Angola (80, 20) are in third place in the COSAFA list, followed by Malawi (90, 24) and Zimbabwe (98, 25).

Those are the only COSAFA sides in the top 100 of the global list, with Mozambique (109, 29), Namibia (115, 33) and Botswana (123, 36) the next three sides. Cote d’Ivoire have kept their place as the top-ranked African side, while Algeria have taken over second place from Ghana. Libya and Mali round out the top five, followed by Egypt, Tunisia, Gabon, Zambia and Sierra Leone.

Spain have maintained their healthy lead over second-placed Germany in the global list, with England in third, while the only change in the top 10 sees Portugal move into fourth at the expense of Uruguay.

The remainder of the top 10 is Italy, Argentina, Netherlands, Croatia and Denmark.

Belgian Valerie Billen has been appointed new coach of Swaziland, signing a one year renewable contract this week, the country’s football association confirmed on Friday. The 59-year-old has previous African experience with Ivorian club Satellite Abidjan in 2001 and also coached Ujpest Dozsa in Hungary, but spent most of his almost two decades as a trainer at clubs in Belgium. Swaziland, ranked a lowly 181 in world football, have already been eliminated from the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and because of financial constraints did not enter the preliminaries for next year’s African Nations Cup finals.

Angola coach Gustavo Ferrin has named his squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Zimbabwe next month.

The Angolans will be away in Harare for the first leg of their qualifier on September 9, before returning home for the second game in October.

Ferrin has only recently been appointed to the post of national coach and has given a recall to Zwela and Nando Rafael, but has left out the Primeiro de Agosto duo of goalkeeper Neblú and midfielder Manucho Dinis.

The winner of the tie will win their place at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by South Africa from January 19 to February 10

The Angola squad is as follows:

Vado, Adawa, Carlitos, Landu (Recreativo do Libolo) Bastos, Miguel, Lamá (Petro de Luanda), Mingo Bille, Amaro, Danny Massunguna (Primeiro de Agosto), Fabrício, Pirolito, Castro (Interclube), Yano (Progresso do Sambizanga), Lunguinha (Kabuscorp do Palanca) and Manuel (ASA). Manucho Gonçalves (Valladolid, Spain), Djalma Campos (Kasimpasa, Turkey), Gilberto (AEL Limassol, Cyprus), Nando Rafael (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Zwela (Atromitos, Greece), Mateus Galiano (Nacional da Madeira, Portugal) and Dominique Kivuvu (Mjallby FC, Sweden).

South Africa coach Gordon Igesund has announced his squad for the international friendlies against Brazil and Mozambique.

It is the first selection made by Igesund since he took over the reins of the national side in July.

Igesund has decided to pick 18-year-old left-back Kgosi Ntlhe from Peterborough United, as well as midfielder Dean Furman from English League One side Oldham Athletic.

Also included is Lamontville Golden Arrows striker Thamsanqa Gabuza, who gets a first call for the national side, while Moroka Swallows' winger Lerato Chabangu gets a first call-up since 2008.

“In picking my squad I have decided to look at players who are in form and whose fitness is where it should be,” Igesund says. “I have had extensive consultations with local and international coaches about these players.

“So it is not necessarily players who many might feel are the best in the country, but the players that I feel will work best as a combination and who are in form.

“But having said that, there is no doors closed for any players, everybody still has an opportunity to play for the national side if they prove that they deserve selection.”

BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns), Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates), Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)

Defenders: Siya Sangweni (Orlando Pirates), Bevan Fransman (SuperSport United), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK, Greece), Erick Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs), Andile Ngcongca (Genk, Belgium), Punch Masenamela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Kgosi Ntlhe (Peterborough United, England), Thabo Matlaba (Orlando Pirates)

Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Everton, England), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), May Mahlangu (Helsingborg, Sweden), Katlego Mashego (Free State Stars), Dean Furman (Oldham Athletic, England), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, England), Lerato Chabangu (Moroka Swallows)

Strikers: Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs), Thulani Serero (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Siyabonga Nomvete (Moroka Swallows), Dino Ndlovu (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Thamsanwa Gabuza (Lamontville Golden Arrows).

The growing danger of match fixing and corruption threatening the sanctity of football was laid bare to southern African countries on Saturday on the opening day of a workshop to highlight the criminal threat to the game. An alarming and growing trend worldwide was highlighted in a frank and open discussion, led by Interpol and FIFA at the two-day event hosted by the Council of South African Football Associations in Johannesburg.

But Cosafa countries also won praise from the two international organisations for their awareness and efforts in fighting corruption in the region. With Zimbabwe’s ‘Asiagate’ scandal and alleged match fixing involving Bafana Bafana before the 2010 World Cup, the dangers have been evident for some time.

FIFA’s new security director Ralf Mutschke warned that the number of similar scandals globally had dramatically increased and the problems of corruption and match fixing was now a worldwide phenomenon. “The criminals have left their finger prints everywhere.” “I’m afraid the magnitude of the problem is still not recognised by everyone,” he told delegates from Cosafa countries. “We need to establish ways to protect the integrity of the sport.”

But he also had encouraging words for Cosafa member countries who have initiated measures to deal with corruption. He also thanked the regional body for taking the initiative of inviting Interpol and FIFA to better educate football administrators about the increasing perils. Cosafa countries also invited along senior police officials to learn more about current criminal trends and modus operandi in the football betting arena.

“We would like to strengthen the defensive powers of the members associations and we are grateful to have received this invitation from Cosafa,” added Mutschke. Cosafa executive committee member Feizal Sidat of Mozambique said all member countries now needed to form commissions or committees to better investigate corruption and initiate measures to combat it.

In those countries without the proper legislation to deal with match fixing, he said, football associations needed to engage with government to get appropriate laws passed. In his opening address, South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani said cheating would escalate as the desire for money, power and fame in the game translated into corruption. “We have to invest more in governance,” he added. Nematandani said he hoped the workshop, which continues on Sunday, would put together steps to take ensure better ethics in the running of the game.

Malawi have named nine foreign-based players in their squad for their African Nations Cup qualifier against Ghana next month.

Coach Kinnah Phiri has wrung the changes for the tough assignment as Malawi seek to qualify for the tournament in South Africa next year.

They play away in Ghana in the first leg on September 8 and host the return in Blantyre in October with the aggregate winner qualifying for the Nations Cup finals next January.

Six of the players come from South African clubs: Limbikani Mzava, the highly rated defender from Bloemfontein Celtic, and Black Leopards’ Harry Nyirenda are in the squad along with Robin Ngalande from Bidvest Wits and the SuperSport United striker Atusaye Nyondo.

Also traveling are Peter Wadwaba from Thanda Royal Zulu in the National First Division and Chiukepo Msowoya, who is on the transfer list at Orlando Pirates.

Fullback Moses Chavula, recently released by AmaZulu, is also in the squad as is midfielder Davy Banda, axed by Leopards in recent weeks.

Phiri also named Mozambique-based goalkeeper Simplex Nthara and Angola-based defender James Sangala. Malawi are also flying in striker Victor Nyirenda, now playing in club football in Vietnam after a previous spell at APR FC in Rwanda.

Captain Peter Mponda, who made a laboured recovery over the last 18 months from a serious injury, has been dropped along with the striking partnership of Esau Kanyenda and Russel Mwafulirwa.

SAFA have confirmed that South Africa will play COSAFA rivals Mozambique in Mbombela on September 11.

Bafana Bafana and the Mambas have met just three times before over the last 20 years, a surprise given their status as neighbours and two of the more powerful teams in Southern Africa.

South Africa have won all three previous matches, the last of which was a 2-0 friendly win in 2008.

The match will be played at Mbombela’s 2010 FIFA World Cup venue and will come just four days after Bafana Bafana have taken on Brazil in Sao Paulo.

The match against the Samba Stars is part of a symbolic hand-over from the previous to present hosts of the FIFA World Cup. South Africa hosted the 2010 tournament, while Brazil will host the next edition in 2014.

The last time the two nations met was on 26 June, 2009 in the FIFA Confederations Cup semifinals, which Brazil won 1-0.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) is on firm financial foundations to deliver upon its mandate. This is according to SAFA CEO Dr Robin Petersen, who was speaking at the release of the Association’s 2012 annual financial report. Dr Petersen confirmed that “the final pieces of the financial jigsaw were coming together.” “Good financial governance lies at the core of any business and achieving an unqualified audit, even one that indicates a trading loss, is absolutely vital,” said the CEO.

The report shows a loss of R56-million (US$7-million), although some R30-million (US$4-million) of this loss involves non-recurring amounts such as the impairment of assets. Losses from core operations are R27.9-million, which have resulted from increased expenditure on national teams, and increased investment in football development. “In accordance with our mandate, we invested in football, with the national teams’ expenditure rising by R15-million owing to a full programme of matches for all of our teams, including the Olympic preparations of Banyana Banyana. Our expenditure on governance rose only 10 percent, and our other administration costs dropped as we contained costs and curtailed programmes,” said SAFA President, Kirsten Nematandani.

“In addition to indicating that SAFA has a strong balance sheet and is most definitely a ‘going concern’, the KPMG audit confirms that the actions we are currently implementing to put SAFA back into the black on a sustainable basis are the right medicine. These actions include: reducing costs (through organisational re-engineering and outsourcing a number of our financial, procurement and secretariat functions to Ernst & Young); the sale of unproductive assets such as the excess World Cup busses ; and, working within a committed revenue budget as opposed to targeted budgets as in the past,” added Petersen.

“We must emphasise that we are set on exceeding the committed revenue budget through prioritising further sponsorships which will, in turn, release funds to accelerate the implementation of the new Technical Master Plan.” SAFA has recently concluded new sponsorship deals with SAB and ABSA, and look forward to announcing further partnerships in the near future.

“These are challenging economic times for every business in South Africa and we wish to express our gratitude to our sponsors and suppliers who we very much see as partners in developing South African football,” concluded Nematandani.

African champions Zambia were defeated 2-1 in South Korea in their friendly international played in Seoul this week.

The Koreans took the lead through Leun-Ho Lee, before Zambia leveled midway through the first half thanks to Emmanuel Mayuka.

Lee scored his second of the game in the second period to give the home side the win in what was a tightly contested encounter.

Botswana were also in action this week as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Tanzania in Molepolole.

Lemponye Tshireletso netted a brace for The Zebras, while Michael Mogaladi was also on the scoresheet.

Angola, South Africa and Zambia are the three Cosafa nations who have progressed to the last round of preliminaries for next year’s African Youth Championships.

Angola and Zambia both earned walkovers to the third round of the qualifiers while South Africa had to scrape through on the away goals rule.

Angola had a 1-0 lead over Zimbabwe after the first leg away in Harare and received a walkover when Zimbabwe did not travel for the return leg in Luanda for a lack of funds.

Zambia had a walkover over Lesotho, who had withdrawn before the competition got underway.

South Africa, coached by Solly Luvengo, won on the away goals rule against Congo in their first qualifying tie, having been given a bye in the first round.

The 1-0 win over the weekend in the home leg at Milpark in Johannesburg proved unconvincing with the only goal coming from Thabani Mthembu in the 65th minute.

They next meet Nigeria to decide a place in the continental championship in Algeria next year.

South Africa will have the advantage of hosting the second leg of the meeting. The first leg is on the weekend of September 21-23 and the return on October 5-7.

Angola’s next opponent is Egypt while Zambia are up against Mali.

Mauritius were eliminated after a 0-0 draw at home to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Indian Ocean islanders had lost the first leg 3-0.

The Malawian national side have cancelled a proposed friendly at home to Uganda this week. The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) took the decision based on the advice of their Government after an outbreak of the Ebola virus in Uganda.

"The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) would like to inform you that the friendly match involving Malawi and Uganda which was slated for 15th August 2012 at Kamuzu Stadium has been cancelled on advice from the Government following the escalation of Ebola disease in Uganda," FAM general secretary Suzgo Nyirenda said.

A new opponent for the fixture is being desperately sought, but has not been named as yet.

COSAFA rivals Zambia defeated Zimbabwe 2-1 in a friendly international played this week in Ndola.

The respective squads were made up of locally-based players as the coaches looked to spread their net with the crucial 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers coming up in September and October.

Zambia were ahead on 35 minutes when winger Jimmy Chisenga supplied a neat finish to beat visiting goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda.

Rodwell Chinyengetere made it 2-0 with 18 minutes remaining with a fine header to seal the victory for the hosts.

African champions Zambia will now travel to South Korea for another friendly international on August 15.

The Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) are to host an INTERPOL workshop August 25-26 that will educate the region on the key contemporary match-fixing issues and corruption threats in football.

The ‘Integrity in Sport’ workshop will be the first of its kind in Africa with INTERPOL partnering with COSAFA to launch their programme on the continent.

The English-speaking countries affiliated to COSAFA – Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe – will all take part in the INTERPOL/FIFA Training, Education and Prevention Initiative event in Johannesburg. It will be attended by senior INTERPOL and FIFA officials, including Michaela Ragg, head of INTERPOL’s Integrity in Sport unit, Ralf Mutschke, Director of FIFA’s Security Division and Detlev Zenglein from FIFA’s Early Warning System programme.

The two-day Interpol workshop will bring together regional football administrators, players’ representatives, referees, betting regulators and law enforcement to improve awareness and understanding of corruption in football, the strategies used by its perpetrators and the methods to recognise, resist and report them.

The delegates will arrive in South Africa on August 24 and that evening will see the official opening of the workshop. The actual programme for the event will begin the following day, when participants will be invited to provide current examples of the status of integrity-related issues within the sport in their region.

The participants will also get a look at the global match-fixing picture, and also be given an insight into how these syndicates operate.

There will also be a general overview of the global sports betting market and insight into FIFA’s Early Warning System, its history and how it maps unusual betting trends around the world.

One of the lengthier parts of the course will be a look at good governance within football associations and effective Anti-Fraud rules, and how to educate players and club officials to be better placed to highlight fraudulent activity. “With billions of dollars involved and more importantly the very reputation of sport itself at stake, it is vital that law enforcement presents a united front in not only ¬fighting this type of crime but to ensure that everyone involved from the rank and ¬file official to the star player is given the resources and training to counter the corrupt influences of transnational organised crime,” says Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble.

There will also be discussions using practical examples as case studies, where participants will be asked to give their assessment of how a particular situation should be handled from an association point of view.

Examples of current match-fixing investigations taking place around the world through Interpol highlight the need to educate players and match officials as to the consequences of fraudulent action, and just what a global problem corruption is. These include:

CHINA: A Chinese court sentenced four soccer referees, including a former World Cup match official, to jail in February 2012 for their involvement in match-fixing and gambling. Around 60 local players, referees, coaches and officials were put on trial the previous December following a two-year investigation into match-¬fixing.

USA: In December 2011, FIFA con¬firmed it is investigating allegations of corruption in the 2010 CONCACAF Gold Cup, citing irregular betting patterns during the tournament – particularly those matches involving Grenada, El Salvador and Cuba.

ITALY: Atalanta player Andrea Masiello was arrested in April 2012 after reportedly admitting to receiving EUR 50 000 (USD 65 700) in illegal payments. The defender, who was playing for Bari at the time, now faces a prison sentence. Eight of his former Bari teammates are also under investigation. Italy made around 46 match-fixing related arrests in 2011.

SOUTH KOREA: A former coach and two former players are found dead – the most recent in April 2012 – in suspected suicides following a July 2011 clampdown on corruption. Forty-six players and 11 others were indicted on charges of match-fixing in the professional K-League.

ZIMBABWE: Around 100 players are suspended as of 2012 for alleged involvement in Asian betting syndicates linked to match-¬fixing. The scandal dubbed as ‘Asiagate’ involved players allegedly taking bribes to throw friendly matches between 2007 and 2009 in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Interpol is the world’s largest international police organisation, with 190 member countries. Its high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century. The aim is to ensure that police around the world have access to the tools and services necessary to do their jobs effectively. They provide targeted training, expert investigative support, and relevant data, and secure communications channels. This combined framework helps police on the ground understand crime trends, analyse information, conduct operations and, ultimately, arrest as many criminals as possible. In order to meet its goals and objectives, Interpol has established the Integrity in Sport unit at the General Secretariat in Lyon, France. The dedicated team will develop and implement the programme, and will form the basis of a training wing within the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore. To provide a continuum of learning over the next 10 years, the unit is researching and developing a variety of integral training courses and modules – including periodic national and regional workshops – tailored to the individual learning needs of the target groups, such as referees and young players. The ultimate aim is to prevent corruption in football before it can even begin.

South Africa produced their greatest ever result in international women’s football after a 0-0 draw with world champions Japan.

Banyana Banyana exited the 2012 London Olympics Women’s Tournament on a high with a draw against the current best team in the world that gives them their first point in a FIFA finals competition.

Having lost their opening two matches to Sweden (1-4) and Canada (0-3), the South Africans had no chance of reaching the knockout stages, but showed some pride in holding the Japanese.

The result should give coach Joseph Mkhonza and his squad a massive boost in confidence ahead of the 2012 African Women’s Championship to be played in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in November.

The result means Japan had to settle for second place in the pool behind Sweden, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Canada. The latter also qualify as one of the best third-place finishers.

Chances were few and far between in the match, but South Africa had their opportunities, particularly in the first half.

Portia Modise fired wide on two occasions, while skipper Amanda Dlamini also saw her effort drift wide.

Japan had given opportunities to their fringe players in the game and failed to really get out of first gear, though to be fair they were never allowed to by the obdurate South Africans.

Mkhonza and his team can take plenty of heart from the game and it has certainly given them something to build on, and perhaps a new-found respect for South African women’s football.

Angola were the only Cosafa member nation to record a win in the latest round of FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifiers and look set to go through to the next round.

Angola won 1-0 away in Zimbabwe in the first leg of their second round qualifying tie and will be fancied to complete the task at home in the return match.

Mateus scored the only goal in the game at Harare’s Rufaro Stadium.

South Africa lost 2-1 away in Congo but have a potentially precious away goal from the weekend tie in Brazzaville. The return leg is in Bloemfontein next month.

There was a 3-0 defeat for Mauritius away in their tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa.

Lesotho's withdrawal means Zambia are already through to the third round.

The South African Under-20 side will have some work to do when they hosts Congo-Brazzaville in the return leg of their 2013 African Youth Championships qualifier. ‘Amajita’ were defeated 2-1 in Congo, but crucially picked up an away goal that leaves them needing just one goal at home to qualify. The South Africans were ahead when Thabani Mthembu rifled home in the eighth minute. The hosts levelled matters from the penalty spot shortly before the half-time whistle, with the winning goal coming early in the second half. South Africa Solly Luvhengo believes his charges have what it takes to outplay the Congolese in the return leg. “We scored an early goal but were not able to protect the lead and win the match. We created several good chances to put the issue beyond doubt but were made to pay the heavy penalty for spurning those chances,’ Luvhengo says. “Now that we know how our opponents play, we will be more prepared in the second leg and I remain confident the boys will do the country proud. I believe we will progress to the next round, I have no doubts.” Meanwhile, Angola beat Zimbabwe 1-0 in Harare and will now possibly be favourites to reach the next round with the return leg in Luanda. Zambia are automatically through to the next round after their opponents, fellow COSAFA side Lesotho, withdrew from the competition.

The return legs of the qualifiers will take place on the weekend of August 11/12.

Cosafa countries continue their bid for places at next year’s U-20 World Cup in Turkey with second round, first leg matches in the preliminary competition. There is a Cosafa derby between Zimbabwe and Angola on the menu while Mauritius and South Africa also play in the qualifiers. Mauritius are away in the Democratic Republic of Congo while South Africa’s Amajita play away in Brazzaville in the first leg of their tie against Congo. Angola, Mauritius and South Africa did not have to play in the first round of the preliminaries in April, given a bye into the second stage. Zimbabwe however came through a two-legged win over Botswana. Zambia are the other Cosafa country in the preliminaries but already through to the third round after the withdraw of Lesotho. There are a total of 13 ties across Africa this weekend at the second round, first leg stage. The second legs will be played on the weekend of August 10-12.

The South African Women’s national side, Banyana Banyana were defeated 4-1 by Sweden in their opening 2012 Olympic Games match on Wednesday night.

The South Africans are at their first-ever FIFA finals, but have been placed in an extremely difficult pool that also includes world champions Japan and top side Canada.

Sweden were third at last year’s Women’s World Cup in Germany and so Banyana can be proud of the fact that they hung into the game at 3-1 on the hour-mark, before the Europeans scored a fourth.

Portia Modise was on target for Banyana, while Nilla Fischer, Lisa Dahlkvist and Lotta Schelin netted for the Swedes.

Banyana’s next match is against Canada on Saturday. After that they take on Japan on July 31.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) have announced that they are to undergo a restructuring of the organisation in order to become a more effective business unit. SAFA President, Kirsten Nematandani, confirmed that “SAFA’s NEC has directed the Ad-hoc committee with CEO to proceed with the re-engineering of SAFA’s structure in order to ensure that the organisation is optimally structured and resourced to deliver on its mandate in these challenging times.” SAFA CEO Dr. Robin Petersen commented: “On my appointment last August I realised that there was much to be done to build on the achievements of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to take us from success to success. “South Africa’s failure to qualify for the 2012 Afcon threw immediate focus onto the need to develop a new technical strategy. We started the process in January and will shortly be sharing how we intend to make South Africa a consistent Top 3 football nation in Africa by 2022. “The challenge of achieving the desired results for the National teams requires a strong, business focused organisation that is able to deliver on the strategy,” says Petersen. “The recent announcement of a number of renewed sponsorship partnerships, combined with the decision to outsource all financial management, procurement and company secretarial functions to Ernst &Young, means that we now have a solid financial foundation and platform and enhanced King III compliance,” added Nematandani. “With these key pillars in place, it is now time to ensure that the organisation is appropriately resourced and structured to enable the achievement of the vision of being a global top 20 football nation by 2020”. “SAFA staff was advised formally that the NEC has directed the Ad-hoc committee with CEO to undertake a thorough review of the current organogram, expenditure patterns, revenue streams, organisational culture, administrative capacity, brand value and corporate image of the Association. This decision is based entirely on ensuring that the football-loving public gets an effective and affordable organisation that is able to deliver results that make the nation proud.” “Within this process,” continued Nematandani, “it is envisaged that there will need to be major changes to ensure that SAFA remains a focused and sustainable business. Key factors are measurable football development and financial sustainability and profitability. We will make sure that this difficult process is followed fairly and in terms of all legal requirements and with due consideration for anyone affected.” The re-engineering is underway and will yield a new organisation in time for the Annual SAFA Congress on 30th September 2012.

Zambia will take on COSAFA rivals Zimbabwe in a friendly international in Ndola on August 8.

It will be the first visit of the Warriors to Zambia since 2004 when they drew 1-1 at the Independence Stadium in Lusaka.

The game with be a valuable run-out for both coaches, who are likely to use exclusively home-based players as the match falls outside of the FIFA match calendar.

African champions Zambia will then travel to South Korea for another friendly international on August 15.

South Africa’s women’s team will be the only COSAFA representative in African Women’s Championship later this year and have been drawn with hosts Equatorial Guinea in the same group.

Equatorial Guinea and South Africa are joined by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal in Group A.

Nigeria, who have won all but one of the seven previous African Women’s Championships, are top seeds in Group B where they are paired with Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia.

The eight-team championship are being hosted in the capital Malabo and Bata, which were the venues used for the African Nations Cup earlier this year .

The women's tournament is being hosted from October 28-November 11. Group A is being hosted in Malabo and Group B in Bata.

The draw was conducted in Cairo on Tuesday.

Banyana’s Banyana first game is against Equatorial Guinea, who were African champions in 2008, on October 28. South Africa lost in the 2008 final to Equatorial Guinea and then again in extra time in the semifinal of the last women’s championship two years ago.

African champions Zambia will travel to South Korea for an international friendly to be played in Seoul on August 15.

One of the spin-offs from Chipolopolo’s victory in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations finals earlier this year is the number of invitations they have received to play all over the world.

Coach Herve Renard will take his team to Asia as a warm-up for their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Uganda over two legs in September and October.

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) have already indicated that they will be using their players based in Europe and China, but may leave behind those based in South Africa and at DR Congo club TP Mazembe, who will be involved in the CAF Champions League just four days later.

After their Korean adventure, the Zambians will face 2013 hosts South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge on November 14.