Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (French:Conseil des Associations de Football en Afrique Australe; Portuguese:Conselho das Associações de Futebol da África Austral), officially abbreviated as COSAFA, is an association of the football playing nations in Southern Africa. It is affiliated to CAF.

COSAFA organise several tournaments in the Southern African region, and its most renowned tournament is the COSAFA Cup.

Executive committee

The 2008 annual general assembly saw the election of the new COSAFA Executive Committee. Previously the committee consisted of 14 members; the new committee now consists of seven members: the president, vice-president and five members, as well as the chief operations officer. The most recent committee was elected on 17 December 2016.

NameOccupation
President
Angola Artur de Almeida e SilvaPresident of The Angolan Football Federation
Vice-president:
Namibia Frans MbidiPresident of the Namibia Football Association
Members
Mozambique Alberto SimangaPresident of the Mozambican Football Federation
Zambia Andrew KamangaPresident of the Football Association of Zambia
Angola Pedro NetoPresident of the Angolan Football Federation
Mauritius Sameer SobhaPresident of the Mauritius Football Association
Malawi Walter Nyamilandu-MandaPresident of the Football Association of Malawi

The term of office of the COSAFA President is five years and that of the Vice President is four years. The other office bearer is three years.

Member associations

All associations that joined in 1997 were founding members of COSAFA. Comoros is the only COSAFA member to also be a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations. Réunion's governing body, Réunionese Football League, is only an associate member of COSAFA. Since Comoros joined in 2007, COSAFA has had 14 member associations.

CountryYearGoverning body
Angola1997Angolan Football Federation
Botswana1997Botswana Football Association
Comoros2007Comoros Football Federation
Eswatini1997Eswatini Football Association
Lesotho1997Lesotho Football Association
Madagascar2000Malagasy Football Federation
Malawi1997Football Association of Malawi
Mauritius2000Mauritius Football Association
Mozambique1997Mozambican Football Federation
Namibia1997Namibia Football Association
Seychelles2000Seychelles Football Federation
South Africa1997South African Football Association
Zambia1997Football Association of Zambia
Zimbabwe1997Zimbabwe Football Association

Competitions

COSAFA runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth.

Current title holders

National teams
CompetitionYearChampionsTitleRunners-upNext editionDates
COSAFA Cup2025Angola5thSouth Africa2026TBD
COSAFA U-20 Championship2025South Africa10thMalawi202618-27 September
COSAFA U-17 Championship2025South Africa4thAngolaTBDTBD
COSAFA Boys Schools Cup2025Zambia1stSouth Africa2026TBD
COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship2024Moroccog1stMozambiqueTBDTBD
National teams (women)
COSAFA Women's Championship2025Namibia1stSouth Africa2026TBD
COSAFA U-20 Women's Championship2025Zambia2ndSouth AfricaTBDTBD
COSAFA U-17 Women's Championship2025Zambia3rdMalawiTBDTBD
COSAFA Girls Schools Cup2025Zambia1stSouth AfricaTBDTBD
Club teams (women)
COSAFA Women's Champions League2025Botswana Football Association Gaborone United Ladies1stFootball Association of Zambia ZESCO Ndola Girls2026TBD
  • ^ginvited guest-nation

Controversy

On 17 October 2023, it was confirmed by COSAFA organisers that the 2023 Women's Championship winners Malawi would receive zero prize money after their 2–1 over Zambia in the final.

Rankings

Football

FIFA Rankings (as of 20 July 2026)
COSAFA*FIFA+/−National TeamPoints
FIFA Rankings (as of 20 July 2026) COSAFA* FIFA +/− National Team Points 1 546 South Africa1451.24 2 871 Angola1265.58 3 90 Zambia1255.82 4 103 Mozambique1218.62 5 104 Madagascar1202.69 6 108 Comoros1187.91 7 121 Namibia1148.84 8 129 Malawi1122.05 9 130 Zimbabwe1119.78 10 146 Lesotho1064.29 11 147 Botswana1063.63 12 165 Eswatini979.01 13 178 Mauritius911.49 14 204 Seychelles804.16FIFA Rankings (as of 16 June 2026) COSAFA* FIFA +/− National Team Points 1 571 South Africa1451.15 2 651 Zambia1390.14 3 1251 Namibia1124.29 4 127 Zimbabwe1114.75 5 1481 Botswana1029.2 6 153 Malawi1018.89 7 155 Angola989.68 8 173 Mozambique874.79 9 175 Seychelles849.52 10 1781 Lesotho836.43 11 184 Eswatini797.06 12 1872 Comoros745.47 13 191 Madagascar724.45 14 1981 Mauritius433.66
1546South Africa1451.24
2871Angola1265.58
390Zambia1255.82
4103Mozambique1218.62
5104Madagascar1202.69
6108Comoros1187.91
7121Namibia1148.84
8129Malawi1122.05
9130Zimbabwe1119.78
10146Lesotho1064.29
11147Botswana1063.63
12165Eswatini979.01
13178Mauritius911.49
14204Seychelles804.16
COSAFA*FIFA+/−National TeamPoints
1571South Africa1451.15
2651Zambia1390.14
31251Namibia1124.29
4127Zimbabwe1114.75
51481Botswana1029.2
6153Malawi1018.89
7155Angola989.68
8173Mozambique874.79
9175Seychelles849.52
101781Lesotho836.43
11184Eswatini797.06
121872Comoros745.47
13191Madagascar724.45
141981Mauritius433.66

Futsal

FIFA Rankings (as of 8 May 2026)
COSAFA*FIFA+/−National TeamPoints
FIFA Rankings (as of 8 May 2026) COSAFA* FIFA +/− National Team Points 1 545 Angola1048.16 2 624 South Africa1004.53 3 787 Mozambique970.84 4 866 Zambia956.91 5 102 Comoros901.65 6 1065 Mauritius878.18 7 1361 Namibia738.98FIFA Rankings (as of 8 May 2026) COSAFA* FIFA +/− National Team Points 1 851 Angola736.89 2 88 Madagascar711.55 3 901 Namibia701.02
1545Angola1048.16
2624South Africa1004.53
3787Mozambique970.84
4866Zambia956.91
5102Comoros901.65
61065Mauritius878.18
71361Namibia738.98
COSAFA*FIFA+/−National TeamPoints
1851Angola736.89
288Madagascar711.55
3901Namibia701.02
BSWW Rankings (as of 1 June 2026)
COSAFA*BSWW+/−National TeamPoints
Beach Soccer BSWW Rankings (as of 1 June 2026) COSAFA* BSWW +/− National Team Points 1 454 Seychelles192.75 2 533 Mozambique168.25 3 624 Malawi124.25 4 823 Madagascar29.75 5 852 Comoros19
1454Seychelles192.75
2533Mozambique168.25
3624Malawi124.25
4823Madagascar29.75
5852Comoros19

See also

External links