Organizers of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of Angola from the Cosafa Cup starting in Durban on Saturday.
Angola cited the need to complete their league season and preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations as its reason.
“The short notice has placed Cosafa Cup organizers in a tight spot and despite canvasing far and wide across the continent for a replacement, the timeframe simply did not allow for a new participant with the tournament to get underway in Durban this weekend,” said Cosafa in a statement.
It means that this year’s Group A will contain three teams – eSwatini, Mauritius and Comoros Islands – giving one of those sides an excellent opportunity to reach the quarterfinals and book a date with defending champions Zimbabwe on June 1.
The change has also forced a revision of the fixture list, with the Cosafa Cup now to kick-off with a clash between eSwatini and Mauritius at the King Zwelithini on Saturday.
eSwatini will then tackle Comoros on May 27, before Group A is completed with a match between Comoros and Mauritius two days later. Both those matches are also at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
Three-time winners Angola have missed two previous Cosafa Cup tournaments – the very first one in 1997 and also in 2015.
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