The Council of Southern African Football Associations Cup 2005

February 26 - August 14

Champions: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe won the COSAFA Castle Cup for the third time after beating Zambia in the final.

A change to the format of the Cosafa Castle Cup was agreed by all member associations with the addition of the Seychelles as a 13th participant.

Instead of the traditional knockout format used for the last five years, this year's competition was played in a group play-off system.

Twelve of the 13 teams – defending champions Angola were given a bye – were divided into three groups of four and played off for a place in the final group.

The groups were played over a single weekend in a single venue with the teams drawn against each other in two semifinals on a Saturday and the winners proceeding to the group final the next day.

The winner of the group then qualified for the competition semifinals hosted in South Africa.

The draw for the three groups was made in January with a seeding system, based on current FIFA rankings, employed. The venues of the three group stages were also determined at the same time.