Pretoria – North West MEC for Tourism, Desbo Mohono, says hosting major events like the Confederation of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Cup will assist in propelling the socio-economic standing of the province.
“Events such as these create the necessary and much-needed tourism traffic in the province which means hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and other small, micro and medium businesses will benefit a great deal,” said MEC Mohono.
The North West province will play host to the 15th COSAFA Cup, an annual tournament for teams from Southern Africa organised by COSAFA, from 17 to 30 May.
The tournament, featuring 14 teams, will start with an opening match between Namibia and Seychelles at 3pm in Moruleng Stadium.
The second match between Zimbabwe and Mauritius will follow at 5:30pm at the same venue.
The MEC said this showed the province was capable of hosting major events.
“All matches of this competition will be played in the North West province and we are particularly proud that they will take place at Moruleng Stadium which is a village.
“This affirms that as the province, we have the capacity and the necessary infrastructure to host major events and if well developed, our villages, townships and small dorpies can do wonders,” she said.
Communities are encouraged to go out in their numbers to support the tournament by attending games and ensuring that they give the necessary support to their respective countries.
“These games should also serve as platform to show the rest of the world that we are united as southern African countries,” MEC Mohono said. – SAnews.gov.za
