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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
ONLY Zimbabwe was absent at Cosafa’s elective general assembly in Windhoek, Namibia, at the weekend.

Thirteen of the 14 Cosafa member associations were present at the elective general assembly, while Zimbabwe couldn’t attend due to a current Fifa suspension, which bars the country from all international football activities.

Angolan Football Federation president Artur de Almeida e Silva was elected new Cosafa president, replacing Phillip Chiyangwa.

Artur de Almeida e Silva

Comoros Football Federation president Said Ali Said Athouman was the only nominee for vice-president and was duly elected.

Timothy Shongwe (Eswatini), Walter Nyamilandu-Manda (Malawi), Faizal Sidat (Mozambique), Brenda Kunda (Zambia) and Khiba Mohoanyane (Lesotho) were the five ordinary members elected as ordinary members of the executive.
Cosafa statutes state that one ordinary member must be a woman.

“I am delighted to have been given the trust and confidence of Cosafa nations to lead the organisation for the next four years,” De Almeida said.

“I must thank the out-going leadership under president Phillip Chiyangwa for the excellent work of the executive committee since their election in December 2016. I am confident the future of Cosafa is full of potential and I am excited to hit the ground running and grow the organisation in the coming years so that it may continue to serve football in our Southern African region to the benefit of all member associations.”

The elective general assembly was also attended by Caf president Patrice Motsepe, who urged member associations to work closely with their governments to grow the game.

Patrice Motsepe

“You can’t separate football and the economic growth of our countries. I am confident for the future,” Motsepe said.

“We are about football. In Eswatini, Lesotho, in every country, part of what we must do is make sure we get more funding and financing. Where the Government works together with our football leaders, we make progress. We will never be able to develop the potential of football without financial backing.”

The 13 associations in attendance agreed to support Fifa president Gianni Infantino for re-election in 2023.

Gianni Infantino

“We believe Gianni Infantino represents the best candidate to lead global football for another four years. He has repeatedly displayed his desire to grow African football and has backed up his words with action,” De Almeida said. – @innocentskizoe