SA will no longer host Cosafa under-20 champs

WINDHOEK – The annual Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) Vodacom Under-20 tournament, which has traditionally been hosted by South Africa, will no longer be held in that country.

South African soccer magazine Kick Off said this week that despite early promises that the country would host the development championships to 2010, the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) had decided otherwise after the sponsors, Vodacom, pulled out. Safa, via Chief Executive Officer Raymond Hack, has already sent correspondence to Cosafa informing them of their decision to withdraw from hosting the tournament, which South Africa has hosted since 1999.The annual competition is now likely to be discontinued or be hosted by another African country, though chances are slim as other Cosafa countries are struggling with issues of sponsorship, said Kick Off.Asked to comment on the latest development, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Acting President, John Muinjo, said that he could not comment, as he had not received any communication from the Cosafa Secretariat.”If we are faced with this dilemma, perhaps there could be other prospective candidates to host the event,” he said.Namibia took part in the football development tournament since its inception but only managed to reach the quarter-finals once.NampaSafa, via Chief Executive Officer Raymond Hack, has already sent correspondence to Cosafa informing them of their decision to withdraw from hosting the tournament, which South Africa has hosted since 1999.The annual competition is now likely to be discontinued or be hosted by another African country, though chances are slim as other Cosafa countries are struggling with issues of sponsorship, said Kick Off.Asked to comment on the latest development, the Namibia Football Association (NFA) Acting President, John Muinjo, said that he could not comment, as he had not received any communication from the Cosafa Secretariat.”If we are faced with this dilemma, perhaps there could be other prospective candidates to host the event,” he said.Namibia took part in the football development tournament since its inception but only managed to reach the quarter-finals once.Nampa