AS Zambia bids to stage the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) has given the nation thumbs up for hosting a successful COSAFA Senior Challenge Cup.
COSAFA 2013 organising committee chairperson, Timothy Shongwe said Zambia did an excellent job in hosting the revived regional tournament and that the nation had proved it had the capacity to stage major international events.
Shongwe said the political will shown by the Zambian government made it easier for the organisers to host a successful tournament.
Shongwe said during a Press briefing at Moba Hotel in Kitwe on Friday evening that without participation of Government, the 2013 COSAFA Cup could have been a flop as organising events of such magnitude was a difficult task.
He said Government provided the organisers with all the necessary assistance needed timely, thereby easing the problems which they had faced and also hailed Zambians for the support rendered to the event, saying they made the visitors feel at home.
“The Zambian government played a big role in ensuring the 2013 COSAFA Cup is a success. Government provided us with all the assistance. The co-operation we got from Government and the Zambian people has been fantastic. Zambia has the capacity to host major international events.
If tomorrow we need to come up for another tournament, all we need is just the political will,” he said.
Shongwe said even after some of the invited guest nations pulled out of the tournament, the organisation and participation of the teams made it a success.
He said COSAFA never received any major complaints from all participating nations and that transport was also well coordinated between Lusaka and the Copperbelt.
COSAFA president, Suketu Patel said the 2013 COSAFA Cup would live a legacy of being one of the best-organised after regional body struggled to stage the tournament since 2009.
Patel said this year’s event had created a platform for the region to have more tournaments and also acted as a stepping stone for the upcoming players.
He said the 2013 COSAFA Cup generated a lot of interest from across the globe, enjoying media coverage across Africa and Europe.
“We are realistic that we are not at UEFA level but keen to develop southern African football,” he said.
Patel hailed the media for the role they played in publicising the tournament, saying for the first time the COSAFA was also on social networks, facebook and twitter with Zambians leading the usage of these facilities.
He said the partnership between the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation and SuperSport had made to expose the COSAFA Cup to the outside world, surpassing the expectations of the southern African regional body.
“We would like to thank journalists for the role, you’ve played to make this tournament a success. COSAFA is happy with the achievements scored. The teams also have done their part and should be commended,” Patel said.
The COSAFA chief also said while the tournament provided a chance to teams in the regional to showcase their potential, it was still impossible for the event to be on the world governing body, FIFA calendar.
Patel, however, said FIFA recognised the COSAFA Cup as a senior national team tournament.
And freelance photographer, Jean Mandela was voted the best photographer at the 2013 COSAFA Cup tournament, earning himself R10,000 (about K5,500).
Zimbabwean reporter, Peter Kanjere picked up the print media accolade also carrying a R10,000.
