Cosafa yet to come up with inter-club competition dates

Sports Correspondent
THE Council of Southern African Football Associations is still yet to come up with dates for the proposed inter-club competition that had been scheduled for this year. The competition, which is supposed to be run along the lines of the Champions League, is now set for next year although dates are yet to be confirmed. Cosafa’s committee member Timothy Shongwe said the competition has not been shelved despite having failed to take off this year.

According to Shongwe the sponsor wanted to have the tournament held in South Africa but the bottleneck was coming up with suitable dates due to a congested football calendar.
“Yes, that competition is still on but we are battling to find dates that would accommodate the tournament. The sponsor wants it held in South Africa but we couldn’t find any free date. We are going to engage Safa (South African Football Association) so we see whether there is a period they can accommodate the contest,” said Shongwe.

Cosafa announced the competition in April last year and said it would be held this year. The competition was envisaged to involve championship winning clubs from Cosafa’s 14-member countries. The regional football body said the competition was aimed at putting an end to the dismal performances by Southern African clubs in continental competitions.
Due to constant failure by clubs from the Southern Region in continental tournaments, and amid concerns from the leadership, Cosafa chief co-ordinator Sue Destombes announced the inception of the clubs’ tourney.

“The objective behind this competition is to give an opportunity for clubs in the Cosafa region — top clubs in their respective countries — to participate internationally thereby grooming them to participate more meaningfully on the continental stage,” Destombes was quoted saying then.

Southern African sides have always struggled against opponents from West and North Africa although South Africa PSL giants Orlando Pirates have done well in the last two years by reaching the finals of the 2013 edition of the Champions League and this year’s Confederations Cup but lost in both games.

AmaBhakaniya still remain the only Southern African side to have lifted the Champions League Trophy.
Local giants Highlanders are still dreaming of a group stage appearance in both versions of the continental competitions, the Champions League and the Confederation Cup while Dynamos appeared once in the Champions League final in 1998. Their performance in the prestigious competition has declined since then.

Shongwe said the initial format they had come up with would see South Africa’s top four teams being invited while the top three teams from the rest of Cosafa’s member states would take part and play in Champions League format but added the set-up might change depending on the available number of days to host the competition.