The winning team at the COSAFA Cup 2015
will walk away with a R500 000 (approximately US$42 000) first prize, a
significant carrot to be dangled in front of the 14 competing nations.
The
regional championship will be played in South Africa from May 17-30 and aside
from the best of Southern Africa, will also feature guest nations Ghana and
Tanzania.
COSAFA
announced the prize-money on Tuesday, which will also see the runners-up claim
R250 000 (US$21 000) and the team that claims the bronze medal R125 000 (US$10
000).
The
other losing semifinalist will take home R100 000 (US$8 300), while the winner
of the Plate competition will receive R75 000 (US$6 250).
But
aside from the team prizes there are also three individual awards for
outstanding players at the tournament.
The
Most Valuable Player, Golden Boot winner for most goals and Goalkeeper of the
tournament will each receive R20 000 (US$1 650).
It
takes the total pot of prizes over the R1.1-million and that means there is
plenty of incentive for teams and players alike.
The
COSAFA Cup 2015 will be played at two venues in South Africa’s North West
Province – Olympia Park in Rustenburg and the Moruleng Stadium.
The
competition sees 14 teams enter this year, including guest nations Ghana, who
finished runners up at the 2015 African Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea, and
Tanzania.
Eight
teams enter the first round pool stage, split into two groups each containing
four sides. They compete on a round robin bases with the top teams in each pool
advancing to the quarterfinals.
Group
A contains Zimbabwe, Namibia, Seychelles and Mauritius, while Group B has
Tanzania, Swaziland, Lesotho and Madagascar.
The
top six teams according to the FIFA World Rankings enter at the quarterfinal
stage. Hosts South Africa take on Botswana, Mozambique clash with Malawi, Ghana
play the winner of Group B and defending champions Zambia wait for the winners
of Group A.
The
losing quarterfinal teams compete in the Plate competition, with the winners
advancing in the Cup.
In
all 23 matches are played over 13 days of competition
The
COSAFA Cup was launched in 1997 and very quickly become one of the most
exciting competitions on the African soccer calendar, described by FIFA President
Sepp Blatter as the best regional tournament in the world.
The
emergence of the COSAFA Cup has also had much to do with the rise to prominence
and the growth in strength of the southern region in African soccer.
It
has given the COSAFA member countries opportunities to increase their
international profile and seek further success on other stages, like that of
the African Nations Cup finals and the World Cup finals.
Zambia
and Zimbabwe have each won four titles, with South Africa and Angola the only other
winners with three each.
COSAFA
is made up of Angola, Botswana, the Comoros Islands, Lesotho Madagascar,
Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, the Seychelles, South Africa,
Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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