Young Warriors  for Cosafa Kuda Mahachi
Chance given: Kuda Mahachi might not have to wait long to make his Afcon bow

Kuda Mahachi

Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
FOUR-TIME Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup winners Zimbabwe will send the Young Warriors for the 2015 edition of the tournament set for South Africa in May.The draw for this year’s edition, which will run from May 17 to 31 in South Africa’s North West Province, is set for Thursday in Johannesburg.

With the Warriors disbanded following their dismal performance last year when they failed to qualify for the 2015 Afcon edition that was held in Equatorial Guinea, Zifa said the decision was meant to emphasise on the development of junior national teams, with the association hoping that this will roll out players good enough to take Zimbabwe to major international football tournaments in future.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Zifa spokesman Xolisani Gwesela said, “Cosafa is a developmental tournament and as such we’re going to use our youth team, the one that’s being coached by Callisto Pasuwa (the national Under-23).”

Asked if his association had considered using  senior players in the Cosafa Cup in preparations for the Afcon 2017 qualifiers that start at the  beginning of June,  Gwesela said, “No position has been made on the senior team. The board will  come up with a decision on that subject when they deem it fit.”

The timing of this year’s edition of the Cosafa Cup gives many competing nations a chance to play

full-strength sides, including their overseas-based players with many leagues having come to a close by then.

Zimbabwe’s Under-23 players who are plying their trade outside the country include Netherlands based Marvelous Nakamba, David Moyo who is in England, Mamelodi Sundowns’ Kudakwashe Mahachi and striker Ackim Mpofu who is in the United States of America.

Cosafa is made up of Angola, Botswana, the Comoros Islands, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Comoros Islands have opted not to compete, while  Angola are expected to confirm their status soon.

The other 12 nations have confirmed that they will be in South Africa for the tournament.

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