Sport, Arts and Culture MEC, Onicca Moloi has commended all stakeholders involved for ensuring that the province could successfully host the 18th Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) tournament.
The competition which ran from 27 May came to an exhilarating end on Sunday when Zimbabwe beat Zambia 4-2 at Peter Mokaba Stadium to win the title for the sixth time.
“We had an incident free tournament. We were a little disappointed with the minimal support and the turnout at the match venues. We still don’t understand why our people decided to stay at home. We thought we would fill up the stadiums because entry was free. However, we want to thank our stakeholders, South African Football Association, Polokwane Municipality and other partners for ensuring that the tournament was a success,” Moloi said.
Vice-President of the South African Football Association, Ria Ledwaba also credited the Provincial Government for ensuring the tournament becomes a resounding success. “The tournament was a good platform for the province to show their sport facilities and their ability to host such events. We want to thank the Provincial Government for coming on board and for being good hosts,” Ledwaba said.
Zimbabwe’s national soccer team took home R500 000 while runners-up Zambia walked away with R250 000. Second runners-up, Lesotho received R150 000 and Madagascar R125 000 for their fourth position.
Bafana Bafana picked up R100, 000 after they won the Plate final, beating Botswana 3-0 on Friday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Polokwane City Football Club goalkeeper, George Chigova who captained the national team on the day was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament.
Story and photos: Herbert Rachuene
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