Tanzania will replace Morocco in the 2025 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup Championship, the organising body announced. The football tournament will take place in the Free State capital of Bloemfontein, from 4 to 15 June.
The withdrawal of Morocco comes barely five days before the start of the 14-nation tournament. The association confirmed a change in participation in a media statement issued on today – Thursday, 29 May. However, no any reason was provided for Morocco’s decision to pull out. Initially, the semifinalists of the 2022 Fifa World Cup were featured as a guest.
The Tanzanian senior men’s team, the Taifa Stars, replace Morocco in the three-team Group C, which has Madagascar and Eswatini. The East African Tanzania is no strangers to the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup. They already competed three times – in 1997, 2015, and then 2018.
The participating 14 nations will also use the competition in the Free State as an opportunity to sharpen themselves for the last two rounds of the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers in September. The preparations are also part of the upcoming TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations finals. Morocco will host the continental showpiece featuring 24 countries from 21 December until 18 January 2026.
Zimbabwe and Mauritius will open the competition when they clash in Group A at the Toyota Stadium on 4 June. Kick-off is 15:00. The hosts, South Africa, will face off against Mozambique in the same venue with kick-off at 18:00. It will be a repeat of their opening game in 2024 that ended in a 1 – 1 draw.
Group A:
- South Africa (host).
- Mozambique.
- Mauritius.
- Zimbabwe.
Group B
- Angola.
- Namibia.
- Malawi.
- Lesotho.
Group C
- Tanzania.
- Madagascar.
- Eswatini.
Group D
- Zambia.
- Comoros.
- Botswana.
