Council for Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) is expected to change the dates for the Senior Challenge Cup following Confederation of African Football (CAF) congress passed a decision to shift the Afcon finals from January to June.
The Cosafa Senior Challenge Cup is held in June and CAF’s decision to shift the Afcon to the same month, means the regional body has to adjust as well.
Cosafa deputy chief executive officer Suzgo Nyirenda, who is responsible for competitions, said the secretariat will propose the changes.
He said: “We will definitely look at the calendar and make proposals to the executive committee.”
The change in the Afcon final dates, has been on the cards for several years.
The competition’s timing in January and February is a cause for concern for clubs in Europe, where many Africans play.
An unprecedented number of players turned down call-ups for this year’s tournament in Gabon to stay with their clubs.
But CAF congress underway in Morocco, has already endorsed the change in dates.
The assembly was set to adopt and ratify the changes in dates yesterday.
“That is the first thing to talk about—we can’t get away from it,” BBC quoted CAF president Ahmad Ahmad as saying.
“We are here for a historic chapter and to effect great changes. These are decisions that will determine the future of our game.”
With the football calendar already crammed, Cosafa now has a mammoth task of identifying when the Senior Challenge Cup will be held without further affecting national leagues in the region.
“Once we get the information from CAF, we will have to look at the calendar and see where the zonal competition will fit in,” said Nyirenda.
Cosafa chief executive Sue Destombes recently said it is difficult to get dates for Cosafa Cup.
She said: “There simply are not enough dates for Cosafa Cup to be on Fifa calendar. Remember, even the other continental tournaments such as Chan [Championship of African Nations], are not on Fifa calendar. It is only Afcon which is on Fifa calendar. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things.” n
