Zimbabwe have turned down the chance to host the 2019 edition of the COSAFA senior men’s football tournament.
Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister, Kirsty Coventry, made the announcement yesterday following a marathon meeting with senior officials from Zimbabwe Football Association ZIFA and the Sports Commission.
“It’s been agreed that at this time the deal was just not very good for the country or for Zifa, so we will not be hosting the Cosafa Games this year, but we look forward to having adequate time to be able to host a world-class event in the near future,” Coventry said at a Press conference in Harare.
“Moving forward, we will continue to work closely with Zifa in terms of what the next steps are and what the future holds in terms of hosting the event,” Coventry added.
Zimbabwe last hosted the tournament in 2009 and were hoping to defend their title at home after winning a record sixth title last year in South Africa.