The 2025 COSAFA Cup will feature African powerhouse Morocco, who have been invited to participate in this year’s tournament, scheduled to run from June 4-15 in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
COSAFA has announced that the group stage draw will take place on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, at 11:00 CAT.
Morocco, the only African nation to have reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, will join 13 Southern African teams in the 24th edition of the competition, which includes regional heavyweights such as Zambia, host nation South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Other participating teams are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, and Namibia.
The teams will be drawn into four groups; Groups A and B will each contain four teams while Groups C and D will have three teams apiece.
“The competition will be an excellent tune-up for teams before they resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaigns in September, giving them the potential for as many as five fixtures,” COSAFA stated in a press release.
“The competition will be staged in Mangaung | Bloemfontein for the first time, with the Free State Stadium, a venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium to host matches.”
Historically, five teams have won the tournament, with Zambia being the most successful with seven titles, followed by Zimbabwe with six. Other winners are South Africa (five), Angola (four), and Namibia (one).
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