from FUTHI MBHELE in Durban
DURBAN – BY hosting the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Women’s Champions League, Durban has underlined its status as a world-class sporting city.
COSAFA women football championships
The tournament also serves as the Council of Southern African Football Associations (COSAFA) Qualifiers 2023.
The tourney, which started on August 30, will run until Friday.
This week, the participating teams had a day off and took the opportunity to visit the coastal city.
“As they take a well-deserved break from all the action, tourists in town for the matches are encouraged to visit the many tourist attractions on offer,” the eThekwini Municipality stated.
The Moses Mabhida, a 2010 World Cup venue, is the main stadium in the city and the entire KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province.
Vusi Mazibuko, General Manager of Moses Mabhida Stadium said the region had positioned itself as the destination of choice and identified sporting events as key for tourism.
He quoted an official from the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) as having been in Durban for the first time and loving the city.
She said had it not been for football, she would not be aware of the beauty of the city.
“Those are the post kind of benefits that have a multiple effect for the purpose of tourism and therefore hosting back to back international events of this magnitude helps with tourism destinations marketing as well as visitors numbers,” Mazibuko said.
Mazibuko noted that some technical teams attending the COSAFA tournament had brought their families along.
“That is good for destinations and for tourism. There are benefits posted to the tournament,” he added.
– CAJ News
