COSAFA And EFA Confident Ahead of AFCON Qualifier
Zambia celebrates lifting the trophy during the 2019 COSAFA U20 Final match between South Africa and Zambia at the Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka on the 14 December 2019 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
With just two days to go before the start of the TotalEnergies Afcon U20 Egypt 2023 | COSAFA Qualifier, COSAFA alongside host association, eSwatini Football Association, EFA, held a media briefing to give an update on the state of readiness from both parties ahead of the highly anticipated youth competition.
The Kingdom of eSwatini will for the first time play host to the competition, which serves as a qualifier to next year’s TotalEnergies AFCON U20 in Egypt where the top four finishers will secure a place in the 2023 FIFA™ U20 World Cup in Indonesia.
Speaking from the EFA headquarters in Mbabane on Tuesday afternoon, COSAFA Secretary General, Ms. Sue Destombes expressed her full satisfaction with the state of readiness by the EFA’s Local Organising Committee, who have been working closely with COSAFA over the last few months to ensure a seamless execution of the competition.
“We are quite satisfied with the preparations done so far ahead of the tournament. Hosting such a tournament involves several logistical factors that can never be compromised such as hotels, transport, and quality stadia. As things stand, we are gearing to host a very special and successful tournament along with all our partners” said a confident Destombes.
Echoing COSAFA’s sentiments on the state of readiness, EFA CEO Mr Frederick Mngomezulu thanked the continuous support and guidance from COSAFA, adding that the competition will also yield a positive economic spin-off for the association as well as the people of eSwatini.
“Given that we have just come out of a challenging period which affected the economy globally, hosting such a competition could not have come at a better time. The whole economic spectrum is going to benefit. Firstly, the tourisms sector will leverage from the game of football through the usage of hotels. The movement of people and fans also brings forth a positive economic improvement to local transport. Government also has its own roadmaps in terms of utilizing our economy which we believe as a football family and association will benefit at large” said an elated Mngomezulu.
