The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations [Cosafa] announced on Monday that the 2022 edition of the tournament will be held in Durban, South Africa, making a return after two years.
Bafana Bafana, the 2021 champions, will be aiming to defend their title after defeating Senegal on penalties. Their victory saw them move to five titles at par with Zambia, one behind leaders Zimbabwe, who have six.
“The 2022 COSAFA Cup will return to Durban this year having last been played in the South African coastal city in 2019, as the region’s top nations battle it out for the coveted crown,” COSAFA posted on their website.
“The tournament will be staged from July 5-17, providing coaches with an excellent chance to fine-tune their squads ahead of the second set of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that will take place in September.”
“The draw for the 2022 tournament is pencilled in for May 31, when the final line-up will be announced, and the teams learn their fate on the road to lifting the trophy.”
Cosafa further announced that spectators are welcome to the stands under strict COVID-19 restrictions.
“We are excited to be able to welcome fans and the media back for this year’s competition after they missed out on 2021 due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“While that pandemic is still with us, sporting events in South Africa may have fans attend up to a maximum of 50% of the venue capacity. Fans must also either be fully vaccinated or produce a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours.”
