By Lwazi Dlamini
The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has thrown its full weight behind Botswana’s bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2027.
Initially, Botswana had engaged Namibia in a joint bid to host the biennial continental showpiece, but the Namibians have since withdrawn citing financial constraints.
COSAFA has made its stance known on both the South African Football Association (SAFA) bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Botswana AFCON 2027 bids.
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SAFA president Dr. Danny Jordaan, Vice President Linda Zwane, and CEO Lydia Monyepao attended the COSAFA AGM in Sandton, Johannesburg on Friday and used the opportunity to make a presentation about South Africa’s intention to host the 2027 global event.
“Our intention is to engage all the other regions on the continent and tell them about our intention to bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2017. But we wanted to start at home and after the other regions on the continent, we will engage CAF,” said SAFA president Jordaan.
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COSAFA president, Artur de Almeida e Silva confirmed that the regional body has endorsed the South African and Botswana bid.
“This signal that we are together, and we are moving together. We support South Africa fully because South Africa is ready. All the infrastructure is ready, and we also know that South Africa is capable of bringing the World Cup to our zone in Africa for the second time. I ask all of us to support South Africa and Botswana for their bids,” the COSAFA president said.