COSAFA Cup
Poor start for Taifa Stars in 2025 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars made a losing start in the on-going 2025 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup on Saturday.
Fresh from drawing goalless against South Africa on Friday, the Taifa Stars suffered a 1-0 defeat to Madagascar in a Group C match played in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
After the two teams had missed some decent scoring opportunities, it was Toky Niaina Rakotondraibe who gave Madagascar the lead after 29 minutes.
Lalaina Rafanomezantzoa’s well placed pass was enough for Rakotondraibe to finish past Tanzania’s goalkeeper Yakoub Suleiman Ali.
Tanzania will return to action against Eswatini on Tuesday in a match they must win if they are to have chances of making it to the later stages of the tournament.
Coach Coach Hemed Suleiman’s team are using the tournament to prepare for the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship finals that they will co-host with Kenya and Uganda in August.
The competition organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has attracted 14 national teams.
Group A: South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zimbabwe
Group B: Angola, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho
Group C: Tanzania, Madagascar, Eswatini
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars will be the only guest side at the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup 2025 that kicked off in South Africa today.
The competition organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) has attracted 14 national teams.
Tanzania replaced Morocco for the competition which will climax on June 15th in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.
Coach Hemed Suleiman’s team will kick start their Group C campaign on June 7th against Madagascar at the Toyota Stadium, then take on Eswatini in their second pool game on June 11th at the same venue. Taifa Stars will however start with an international friendly match against South Africa to be played on June 6th in Polokwane.
Tanzania who have only included a handful of professional players will use the tournament to prepare for the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship finals that they will co-host with Kenya and Uganda in August.
Taifa Stars have featured in the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Cup three times before, including in the inaugural year in 1997.
Group A: South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius, Zimbabwe
Group B: Angola, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho
Group C: Tanzania, Madagascar, Eswatini
Group D: Zambia, Comoros, Botswana
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