The COSAFA Show
by Mark Gleeson and Nick Said
With football news, views and analysis from around Southern Africa, The COSAFA Show offers a unique window into what is happening on and off the pitch in the region.
Podcast episodes
Season 1
Africa's future - Part 2
In our latest episode of the COSAFA Show we have Part 2 of the extensive views of newly re-elected CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, who hails from the COSAFA region. Dr Motsepe will enter a second term at the helm of the game on the continent having been re-elected unopposed following successful first term in which great strides were made women’s and youth football, modernizing refereeing on the continent and several other spheres. CAF has improved its commercial outlook which has led to increased prizemoney in its competitions across the board.In Part 2 of this discussion with journalists, Dr Motsepe talks about the progress made in his first term, and how he plans to shape the future of the game on the continent in the coming years.
Africa's continued growth
In our latest episode of the COSAFA Show, which is actually a two-parter, we get the extensive views of newly re-elected CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, who hails from the COSAFA region. Dr Motsepe will enter a second term at the helm of the game on the continent having been re-elected unopposed following successful first term in which great strides were made women’s and youth football, modernizing refereeing on the continent and several other spheres. CAF has improved its commercial outlook which has led to increased prizemoney in its competitions across the board. In Part 1 of this discussion with journalists, Dr Motsepe talks about the progress made in his first term, improving women’s football and making the African globally competitive. We will have Part 2 next week.
Lesotho deep dive
In this edition of The COSAFA Show we delve into all things Lesotho football to understand the successes and challenges of the Beautiful Game in the equally beautiful Mountain Kingdom. We chat to Lesotho Football Association General Secretary Mokhosi Mohapi, who has overseen significant gains for the country on and off the pitch but also admits there is much work still to do. This in-depth interviews covers areas such as the senior national teams, women’s football, junior set-ups, the local league, referees and much, much more in order to get a solid understanding of the current state of Lesotho football, but also what the future holds.
Super Seven!
A record seven COSAFA nations have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 and all learned their fate with the draw that was held in Rabat this week. The 24-team tournament will be staged from 21 December, 2025 to 18 January 2026 and will be a celebration of elite African football in six host cities and nine stadia. Three COSAFA sides - South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe have been drawn in the same pool at the finals, while Zambia and Comoros have also been paired together, alma with hosts Morocco and Mali. Botswana return for a second ever finals following their first in 2012, while Mozambique are also back at the finals. There is no doubt the COSAFA Cup to be staged in mid-year will have extra spice this season as coaches look at their various options. We speak to coaches from all seven teams to get their reactions to the draw.
Bumper year ahead!
In this latest episode of The COSAFA Show we speak to Executive Director Sue Destombes as we reflect on a bumper 2024 for the organisation, and look ahead to what may be in store in 2025. COSAFA held an unprecedented nine tournaments last year, five of them for women, despite a challenging environment and external factors that were outside of the organisation’s control. The rewards of this long-term development of men’s and women’s football at all age-group levels can be seen in a record seven COSAFA sides qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco later this year, and the continued improvement of out women’s team. Destombes outlines the highlights of 2024, on and off the pitch, and the ambitious plans of COSAFA for 2025.