The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has finally arrived in Mangaung, but residents have largely met it with dismay.

Bloemfontein Courant reports that attendance at the Cosafa tournament, which ends tomorrow afternoon, has been poor.

The Mangaung Metro Municipality’s (MMM) decision to host the tournament –  an annual tournament for teams from southern Africa – has drawn widespread criticism, with many residents opposing it amid ongoing service delivery issues. A week into the sporting event, it appears most locals have opted to stay away, showing little interest in the two-week tournament.

In light of this, Bloemfontein Courant spoke to MMM spokesperson Qondile Khedama, who attributed the low turnout to the cold winter weather but remained hopeful that attendance would improve as the tournament reaches its final stages.

“Cosafa’s marketing is in-house, and we as the municipality are supporting them. But I feel like they need to strengthen it. You should also remember that we are in winter, so that also affected the attendance. But the semi-finals and finals are yet to come, so we are anticipating the attendance to pick up,” Khedama said.

When the tournament was first announced, MMM promised it would boost the local sports sector, stimulate economic growth, and enhance the city’s profile. However, public sentiment suggests many residents remain unconvinced.

Khedama added that the municipality must review how to better involve local businesses in future events.

“And then currently there’s a buzz in the hotels. Players are sleeping in the hotels, executives, the supporting staff, and all that. But that does not yet translate into benefits for ordinary people. And this is where our concern is. You also want to see the spinoffs spilling onto ordinary people in the township, small businesses, and so on. And I can confidently say that we haven’t realised that yet. And maybe it’s for us as management to retreat and check as to what are those activities that will make sure that our people do benefit from them,” he concluded.

Madagascar and Comoros will contest the match for third place (at 12:00), while Angola and South Africa will play in the final that is scheduled to kick off at 15:00.