Salima to play in Cossasa tourney
African Schools Championship bronze medallists Salima Secondary School will represent Malawi at this year’s Confederation of School Sport Associations of Southern Africa (Cossasa) tournament.
Salima did the victory-starved country proud by finishing third at the inaugural continental showpiece in Durban, South Africa, last week.
Malawi Schools Sports Association President Blackson Malamula said Salima automatically qualify to be at the regional showpiece courtesy of their impressive performance at the continental contest.
“This is a team we need to nurture. It has great potential to win more medals for Malawi. Going forward, we will make arrangements for the players to be training together during school holidays.
“This is the team which will represent us at the Cossasa tournament, which starts in August and ends in September. We will, therefore, do all we can to help the team prepare well,” Malamula said.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Technical Director Benjamin Kumwenda said Salima should be assured of continued support.
“Fam has set aside some funds in its budget to cater for schools football. This is an area that will get a lot of attention this year because this is where our best players come from.
“We expect more schools to come forward and participate in schools football competitions. Salima’s exploits will surely motivate them to come forward and give out their best,” Kumwenda said.
Salima coach Joseph Kaunda said they would need to train every weekend to prepare well for the competition.
“We are yet to be told about playing at the Cossasa tournament but we will be willing to represent Malawi again.
“We do not want a repeat of the South Africa trip, where the communication came late and we trained for only six days as a result. Otherwise, we are looking forward to playing for Malawi again,” Kaunda said.
Salima qualified for the African Schools Championship after finishing second in regional qualifiers.
Success at both regional and continental levels saw the school bagging over K250 million in prizes.
