Zimpapers Logo

Philip Chiyangwa

Sports Reporter
ZIFA and COSAFA president Philip Chiyangwa is scheduled to leave the country tomorrow for the first leg of a whirlwind tour that will also see him traveling to the United Nations, Canada, the United Kingdom, Morocco and various West African nations.

The Harare businessman is likely to be on the road until the end of next month.

Chiyangwa’s first port of call will be a return to the COSAFA Castle Cup tournament in South Africa, where as the leader of the regional football grouping, he will oversee the final phases of a tournament that has delivered fireworks on the football pitch.

The curtain will come down on the 2017 COSAFA Castle Cup tomorrow and Chiyangwa, as the regional boss, will preside over the prize-giving ceremony.

The COSAFA boss hinted yesterday that the regional grouping will also have to consider making changes to the format of the COSAFA Castle Cup, which he says was too punishing on the teams that are made to play in the group phase of the tourney.

“We have to examine our format because the schedule makes it difficult for those teams that would have played in the group stages to succeed since the number of games that they play, and within a very short space of time, is too punishing on them,’’ he said.

“It makes it easier for the fresher teams, who are considered to be the stronger sides, to win the tournament because they play fewer matches and would be very fresh and we have to find ways of, at least, trying to level the playing field so that the other countries can also come into the tournament with a good chance of winning.

“It’s something that I will be discussing with my colleagues and also getting their input so that we find a format that is best for every country because this is a very important tournament for every nation in the region.’’

Guest nation Tanzania, who had impressed in the group stages as they won Group A, faded badly in the second half yesterday in their semi-final tie against Zambia, playing only their second match in the tournament.