Football governing body, ZIFA has congratulated recently crowned Cosafa Champions, Zimbabwe Warriors.

The Warriors beat Zambia 4-2 after extra time in a pulsating final to clinch a record sixth COSAFA title.

In a congratulatory message signed by ZIFA President Philip Chiyangwa, ZIFA said Warriors’ victory “is a wonderful occasion and an opportunity to draw satisfaction from a job well done.

The ZIFA President also described Warriors’ success a “true warrior victory”, lauding the efforts of the players, technical team, medical team, management and supporters.

Below is the unedited congratulatory letter.

THE Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) President Dr Philip Chiyangwa, the Executive Committee , the Council and the Secretariat would like to warmly congratulate the history making Zimbabwe national senior football men’s team, the Warriors, for their outstanding victory over Zambia in the Cosafa Cup final played today (Saturday) in Polokwane, South Africa and clinching a record sixth Cosafa title.

No one deserves better than them.
The run to the final, including two breath taking penalty shootouts wins against Botswana and Lesotho, and the ultimate victory today shows there is no other team in the region deserving the title Cup Kings.

To the men who engineered this outstanding triumph, in particular coach Sunday Chidzambga and his technical team and goalkeeper George Chigova’s in particular , it is certainly beyond words that we say well done.

You have done Zimbabwe proud, we salute you and we do believe that the 2017 victory over the same opponents was no fluke. It was deserved, just as this one was.

To all the players who took part in the competition we say, well done, you showed a true fighting spirit especially in the final this afternoon to come from 2-1 down to win 4-2. That is the exact definition of a warrior!

To the Zimbabwe fans, both local and abroad, we could not have achieved this without your support and goodwill. We thank you.

And finally, to Zambia, the losing finalists, take heart and continue fighting. You win some and lose some and that’s the essence of football.

To all the teams that participated in the 2018 edition, we say thank you for the sportsmanship you exhibited throughout the competition and we wish you all the best in the 2019 edition.

And most importantly, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our sponsors and the Limpopo province for hosting us.
Thank you.
DR PHILLIP CHIYANGWA
ZIFA AND COSAFA PRESIDENT