| Tourney Name: | COSAFA Cup |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Other Titles: | COSAFA Castle Cup |
| Country: | Zambia |
| Dates: | 6–20 July 2013 |
| Num Teams: | 13 |
| Sub-Confederations: | 2 |
| Venues: | 4 |
| Cities: | 3 |
| Champion: | Zambia |
| Count: | 4 |
| Second: | Zimbabwe |
| Third: | South Africa |
| Fourth: | Lesotho |
| Matches: | 20 |
| Goals: | 54 |
| Top Scorer: | Jerome Ramatlhakwane (4) |
| Player: | Mukuka Mulenga |
| Goalkeeper: | Daniel Munyau |
| Prevseason: | 2009 |
| Nextseason: | 2015 |
The 2013 COSAFA Cup, sponsored by South African Breweries and officially named the 2013 COSAFA Castle Cup,[1] was the 14th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). It was hosted by Zambia in July 2013.[2]
Comoros and Madagascar did not enter for unknown reasons. While Kenya and Tanzania, both members of the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) were invited.[3] [4]
On 17 May 2013, Tanzania withdrew, citing conflicting schedules with African Nations Championship qualifiers and the Kagame Interclub Cup.[5] The Tanzanian and Ugandan Federations were unable to agree on a new date for the African Nations Championship qualifying game due to a conflict with the FUFA elections.[6] Tanzania were replaced with Equatorial Guinea,[7] a member of the Central African Football Federations' Union (UNIFFAC), but they withdrew from the competition on 24 June.[8]
The FIFA World Rankings from 11 April 2013 were used to decide which teams receive a bye to the quarter-final stage.
| Nation | FIFA Ranking | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | Bye to quarter-final stage | |
| 62 | ||
| 94 | ||
| 101 | ||
| 106 | ||
| 109 | ||
| No bye Teams start in group stage | ||
| 122 | ||
| 122 | ||
| 125 | ||
| 156 | ||
| 183 | ||
| 189 | ||
| 199 |
Prior to the start of the competition, the Zambian government did not provide funds to make the Godfrey 'Ucar' Chitalu 107 Stadium in Kabwe suitable for the competition. As a result, those games were relocated to the Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.[9]
See main article: 2013 COSAFA Cup squads.
All times listed are local (UTC+2).
--------
--------†This fixture was originally scheduled to take place on 7 July at 15:00 (UTC+2). However, Kenya's arrival at the tournament was delayed due to the players' league commitments.[10]
Zambia, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi all received a bye to this stage.
----
The following were the individual awards:[11]
Sonito
Jockins Atudo Paul Kiongera
Gastin Simkonda
Pinehas Jakob Petrus Shitembi Willy Stephanus Neville Tjiueza Sadney Urikhob