SUN CITY - Zimbabwe property mogul Phillip Chiyangwa was elected unopposed as the new Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) president in Sun City‚ North West‚ on Saturday after his rival for the top job‚ South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan‚ withdrew from the race.
Jordaan was widely believed to be a strong favourite to succeed the Seychelles’ Suketu Patel – who has been president for a decade – but the Safa president informed Cosafa on Saturday morning that he had decided to walk away from the race.
Jordaan told Times Media Digital that he decided against running and would give his support to Cosafa’s new leadership.
Cosafa secretary general Sue Destombes said Jordaan and Chiyangwa were the only candidates for the position of president.
“It (withdrawing) was a decision taken by Dr Jordaan and his executive. They do not need to give us an explanation and it was a decision taken by them‚” she said.
“They sent through a formal letter of withdrawal early on Saturday morning.”
The flamboyant Chiyangwa‚ who used to be a boxing promoter in Zimbabwe before he turned his attention to football‚ has been the Zimbabwe Football Association’s president for a year.
He told Times Media Digital he intends to challenge the status quo and would explore ways to reduce the huge financial gap between the European leagues and those on the African continent.
“We are looking at a number of (sponsorship) options that we want to unlock so that things work for us‚” he said.
“Cosafa must be known in the same way that Fifa is known because it is a representative body (of the region) at Fifa.”
The new Cosafa boss said he watched Mamelodi Sundowns’ progress in the African Champions League this year and was very happy when the Brazilians beat Egyptians Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate over two legs to become continental champions in October.
Coach Pitso Mosimane charges then became the first South African team to play in the Club World Cup in Japan and Chiyangwa said he wants to see teams from the Cosafa region participating in the Fifa tournament every year.
“Mamelodi Sundowns have been doing very well for our region‚” he said.
“We must see more teams from this region competing in the Fifa Club World Cup. We want to see more teams playing against European‚ Asian and South American teams.”
While Sundowns did not win a game in Japan – they were beaten 2-0 by Japan side Kashima Antlers in the quarterfinals and also suffered a 4-1 defeat to South Korea club Jeonbuk Hyundai in the play-off for fifth place - the experience they gained from playing at that high level and against some of the best teams in the world will have been priceless for Mosimane’s charges.
Chiyangwa said he hoped that Southern African clubs will take lessons from Sundowns’ participation in the tournament and then make a serious bid for the title in future.
The 14 member countries of Cosafa are: Angola‚ Botswana‚ Comores‚ Lesotho‚ Madagascar‚ Malawi‚ Mauritius‚ Mozambique‚ Namibia‚ Seychelles‚ South Africa‚ Swaziland‚ Zambia‚ Zimbabwe‚ and Associate Member Reunion - TMG Digital
Chiyangwa elected new Cosafa president after Jordaan's surprise withdrawal from race
SUN CITY - Zimbabwe property mogul Phillip Chiyangwa was elected unopposed as the new Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) president in Sun City‚ North West‚ on Saturday after his rival for the top job‚ South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan‚ withdrew from the race.
Jordaan was widely believed to be a strong favourite to succeed the Seychelles’ Suketu Patel – who has been president for a decade – but the Safa president informed Cosafa on Saturday morning that he had decided to walk away from the race.
Jordaan told Times Media Digital that he decided against running and would give his support to Cosafa’s new leadership.
Cosafa secretary general Sue Destombes said Jordaan and Chiyangwa were the only candidates for the position of president.
“It (withdrawing) was a decision taken by Dr Jordaan and his executive. They do not need to give us an explanation and it was a decision taken by them‚” she said.
“They sent through a formal letter of withdrawal early on Saturday morning.”
The flamboyant Chiyangwa‚ who used to be a boxing promoter in Zimbabwe before he turned his attention to football‚ has been the Zimbabwe Football Association’s president for a year.
He told Times Media Digital he intends to challenge the status quo and would explore ways to reduce the huge financial gap between the European leagues and those on the African continent.
“We are looking at a number of (sponsorship) options that we want to unlock so that things work for us‚” he said.
“Cosafa must be known in the same way that Fifa is known because it is a representative body (of the region) at Fifa.”
The new Cosafa boss said he watched Mamelodi Sundowns’ progress in the African Champions League this year and was very happy when the Brazilians beat Egyptians Zamalek 3-1 on aggregate over two legs to become continental champions in October.
Coach Pitso Mosimane charges then became the first South African team to play in the Club World Cup in Japan and Chiyangwa said he wants to see teams from the Cosafa region participating in the Fifa tournament every year.
“Mamelodi Sundowns have been doing very well for our region‚” he said.
“We must see more teams from this region competing in the Fifa Club World Cup. We want to see more teams playing against European‚ Asian and South American teams.”
While Sundowns did not win a game in Japan – they were beaten 2-0 by Japan side Kashima Antlers in the quarterfinals and also suffered a 4-1 defeat to South Korea club Jeonbuk Hyundai in the play-off for fifth place - the experience they gained from playing at that high level and against some of the best teams in the world will have been priceless for Mosimane’s charges.
Chiyangwa said he hoped that Southern African clubs will take lessons from Sundowns’ participation in the tournament and then make a serious bid for the title in future.
The 14 member countries of Cosafa are: Angola‚ Botswana‚ Comores‚ Lesotho‚ Madagascar‚ Malawi‚ Mauritius‚ Mozambique‚ Namibia‚ Seychelles‚ South Africa‚ Swaziland‚ Zambia‚ Zimbabwe‚ and Associate Member Reunion - TMG Digital
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