2018 Women's AFCON: 3 Lessons to learn from COSAFA 2018

“The players were exposed to so much pressure as the coach needed to trim the squad from 29 players to 21 players as per the requirements of the tournament. That, on its own heightened the pressure as the team members needed to prove that they are worthy of retainment.”

— Simiso Shabangu, FirstTouch Africa

When South Africa decided to call herself using the name of a region, the other countries in the Southern part of Africa then seemed to be invisible. Even those that know about this region easily associate it with Nelson Mandela.  Fortunately, the COSAFA Women’s Championship showed that Southern Africa has more incredible things to offer. This September, the tournament which is organised by the Council of Southern Africa Football Association gathered the 10 teams from Southern Africa. They also invited Uganda and Cameroon not miss out on what the South has to offer.

Our interest is beyond the wins that were accomplished here but it is deeply in the three lessons that we could derive from from the battle that these ladies fought on the field. Lessons difficult to ignore as the 2018 Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations looms.

1. In the modern day of GOATs, the old adage of teamwork prevails

Desiree Scott of Canada and Andisiwe Mgcoyi of South Africa contest for the ball during the Women's Football first round Group F Match of the London 2012 Olympic Games between Canada and South Africa, at City of Coventry Stadium on July 28, 2012 in Coventry, England.

(July 27, 2012 - Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images Europe)

The tournament reminded us that if anyone is to succeed in anything they do, they should leverage the strength of other people. This was a lesson that was echoed by winner of the player of the match award in the final, Kaylin Swart, who was quoted saying “I want to say thank you especially to the girls as we could not have done it without each other..and honestly, it is a team effort.” South Africa (Banyana Banyana) walked away from the tournament with the 2018 COSAFA title and they accredited that to the fact that they were willing to close the gap for each other and most importantly, were ready to accept each other’s lesser strengths which is basically what teamwork is about.

2.  Competition Brings Out the Best in You

Ideally, this tournament is meant for the Southern part of the region, but as mentioned two nations were brought in as guest nations. They were Cameroon and Uganda. These two teams outdid the Southern teams with Cameron making it to the finals while Uganda snatched the bronze medal. Had these teams not been here, countries like Zambia would have ended at a higher position. These guest nations came in for the competition, revealing to sides like She-polopolo of Zambia that that they still had something to work on. Sometimes we dislike competition but it is losing to teams like the Cameronian team that will enable Southern African  teams to work on their weaknesses in preparation of the 2018 Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

3. Status Cannot Substitute Hard Work

Andisiwe Mgcoyi attends the Team South Africa Training Session at Sportschule Hennef on July 11, 2012 in Hennef, Germany.

(July 10, 2012 - Source: Mathis Wienand/Getty Images Europe)

More than any other country, Banyana Banyana has won the Women’s COSAFA Cup a record, five times. They walked into the tourney as undisputable favorites also boasting of Olympic Games appearances. With such an impressive track record, one could think that South Africa should have rested and not worked as hard in the 2018 edition. However, ahead of the tournament, the Banyana Banyana coach called the team to a gruelling training camp in Johannesburg from the 5th to the 10th of September. The players were exposed to so much pressure as the coach needed to trim the squad from 29 players to 21 players as per the requirements of the tournament. That, on its own heightened the pressure as the team members needed to prove that they are worthy of retainment. The hard work invested into this tournament paid off for South Africa as they were able to defend the title. Surely, yesterday’s victories do not guarantee today’s victory if hard work is eliminated from the process.

FT Hidden Gem Series: Who is Tinotenda Kadewere?

More often than not, people focus on the players that are already known in the most famous leagues in Europe. Not many of us take time to appreciate a rare talent that continues to escape the radar. Look at Jamie Vardy for instance, he shined in England at the age of 28, but who knew about him before then? In this piece, we look at a certain talent from the country of Zimbabwe before he blows up and becomes one of your favorite African players in no time. Here’s what Tinotenda Kadewere is about.

Background

Tino Kadewere was born on the 5th of January in 1996. He started his career at Harare City in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League at the age of 18 where he scored 7 goals just halfway into his debut campaign. In 2014, he left Harare City for Djugardens on a loan deal with an obligation to buy him on a 4-year-long deal. It is at the Swedish club that he started to grow not only in terms of his technical abilities but also his physique. Two years down the line, the Zimbabwean striker was a few inches taller and staking a claim for a place in the AFCON games played in Gabon. Although he failed to make an appearance in the tournament, he was inspired by his involvement in the dressing room and he sought to use that experience to push for further success at his club, Djugardens. Tinotenda famously scored 4 goals for Djugardens in a single league match which is a record that had not been matched since 1978. This summer, French Ligue 2 side, Le Havre scooped him from the Swedish team for a fee reported to be in the region of $2.5 million.

Photo: Kenta Jönsson/Bildbryan

On his move

Tinotenda was excited to take the next step in his football career by moving to the French side in July 2018. Who wouldn’t be? This is the country where players like Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, George Weah, Didier Drogba etc. made a name for themselves. This league also worked as a stepping stone for them when they eventually made their big moves to clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Chelsea. This should be very encouraging to the young player who is hungry for success. He said, “It’s good news for me as a footballer to make another step, but it’s also bad news because I don’t know how I will live in France without all these Djurgardens people.” He was obviously emotional about leaving the club that showed faith in him when he was just a teenager and gave him the chance to play European football.

On his attributes

Tino Kadewere’s favorite position is centre forward. He is an Aubameyang-type of a striker who works best on the shoulders of the defense and can use his lethal pace to beat his markers before scoring goals. It is no surprise that he had already scored 8 goals in 12 matches this season with his pace a menace for defenders in the Swedish First Division. His physique has been growing by the years and he no longer looks like someone who could be budged off the ball like many strikers of his age.

Just like many talented players, he is also capable of playing in a number of positions on the pitch. His pace and trickery also warrants him a place on either flanks because Kadewere is confident that he can beat any defender as long as he has the ball in his feet. These attributes are the reasons why he was deployed on the flanks during his High School years. Obviously, he is no Jay Jay Okocha with the ball yet but the sky is the limit for the 22-year-old Zimbabwean. It is easy to see how this type of player can fit in the squads of the big teams around Europe. Real Madrid have one in Lucas Vazquez who comes off the bench as an impact player. Even Arsenal have that in Alex Iwobi who offers something different from the flanks. Maybe Tino could be that for a team like Chelsea in England or Atletico Madrid in Spain.

On his Injury

If you did not know, Tino Kadewere picked up an injury which was later revealed to be internal ligament damage in his left knee. He had this to say about his injury, “It is obviously boring but it is also part of the football at the same time. Now, the only thing that matters to me is to fix this and come back even stronger.” This injury did not scare off interest from Le Havre who still invested in his services despite the fact that the player was facing 8-10 weeks on the sidelines. It is quite rare to find in football that a club pays so much money for a young player let alone someone who is injured. However, they are confident in his ability and potential to become a great player for the club and rightly so. Tino is a player on the rise.

Achievements:

1. The 22-year old guided his old club, FC Djugardens to the 2017/18 Svenska Cupen on the 10th of May, 2018. He scored four of the 14 goals by the club in the tournament. This trophy was the first title for the club since 2013.

2. Kadewere won the COSAFA Cup (a tournament organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations) with his nation on the 9th of June 2018 just a month after lifting a trophy with his club. The young forward scored a brace in the final against Zambia and provided one in a 4-2 victory for the Warriors of Zimbabwe.

COSAFA: R1 Million ($84K) Boost for 2017 Women’s Championships

On Wednesday, Kwese sports handed over a prize money worth R1 Million ($ USD 84 000) to the 2017 COSAFA Women’s Championships, putting the competition on the same pedestal with that of the men’s competition.

This is definitely a positive step in the right direction for uplifting the women’s game in Southern Africa which is becoming even more popular. Hopefully, signals like these will act as calls to action for football bodies and other stakeholders informing them that the women’s game is worth investing in. South Africa are the defending champions of the region after beating Zimbabwe by two goals to one in last year’s finals.

Zimbabwe: Outspoken Chiyangwa could leave office soon

There is a possibility that the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) president, Philip Chiyangwa, would be forced to vacate office after the immediate resignation of two federation’s board members, Piraishe Mabhena and Felton Kamambo. The resignation has left ZIFA with only three executive leaving them short of the five man quorum required to run the body. The board was already operating with three vacant positions after the passing on of Zimbabwe’s footballing legend, Edzai Kasinauyo and the delayed appointments of the PSL and women’s football seats.

Given the current situation, constitutionally, the secretary general would dissolve the whole body and assume the top position for a two month period awaiting general elections.

However, Philip “Big Phidza” Chiyangwa seems to be having none of that as they are reports citing that he was working on a plan to appoint two people to occupy the vacant positions. The ZIFA boss is also the president of the Southern African body of football, COSAFA which he assumed only a few months after winning the ZIFA top job. Millionaire, Chiyangwa, is your typical outspoken President Donald Trump kind of guy who was also influential in pushing for the replacement of the long serving AFCON former president, Issa Hayatou.

Do you think Chiyangwa has been backed into a corner this time?

COSAFA Cup: Botswana steps down, South Africa steps up

Botswana has receded their right to host the 18th edition of the Council of Southern African Football Associations tournament. According to Botswana Football Association CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, South Africa who were last year’s hosts will come to the rescue.

"South Africa has provisionally agreed to step in and host the COSAFA cup and we are grateful for that," Mfolo told the media.

The COSAFA cup is for national team players based in their respective domestic leagues. Sixteen nations participant in the tournament and the Warriors of Zimbabwe is the most successful team with a record five titles, followed by Zambia with four.