Unloved Chiyangwa remains Cosafa leader

PHILIP Chiyangwa may have lost the ZIFA presidency, but he remains the COSAFA leader until his tenure at the regional football body expires.

Chiyangwa's reign at the helm of ZIFA came to an end on Sunday when the maverick businessman fell to his former board member Felton Kamambo at the association's elective assembly. But there have been misconceptions by some in the domestic football circles suggesting that Chiyangwa's defeat to Kamambo means that he also lost the COSAFA post.

Chiyangwa will remain as the boss at COSAFA as his term is for a five-year term COSAFA and ZIFA operate on different constitutions with the leadership of the association getting vacation four year term upon election.

Although his ascendancy to the ZIFA presidency laid the platform for his election to COSAFA, Chiyangwa wasn't elevated to the regional body. Instead he was elected in terms of the COSAFA consitution.

Chiyangwa is not the first member of the COSAFA executive to lose his position at the association but still worked for the regional body. Botswana's David Fani, Frans Mbidi of Namibia and Suketu Patel of Seychelles served in the top echolons of COSAFA when they were not leaders of their FA's.