Teams participating in the ongoing Cosafa Cup will be allowed to add three more players to their squads, the organisers have announced.

In a statement, Cosafa said the move is aimed at easing effects of fatigue which teams could face due to congested fixtures at Nelson Mandela Bay.

The organisers re-arranged the format of the competition and the fixtures after remaining with 10 participating teams following the late withdrawal of Comoros Islands and Madagascar.

Cosafa General Secretary, Sue Destombes, said the change in the format to two pools each comprising five teams “added an additional match to the tournament for all teams and opens the potential of player fatigue.”

Each participating team brought 20 players to the tournament but could also travel “with five on ‘stand-by’ in case of COVID-19 infections.”

Destombes said each team can now add three of those five on the stand-by list from the third round of the fixtures.

“Player welfare is of great importance to us, and we are very aware of the impact that adding an additional game to the competition would have on the teams,” Destombes said.

“It was therefore decided to allow teams to bring in three additional players from their third game onwards to alleviate this situation.”

Additionally, teams at the tournament can use a maximum of five substitutes per match. The tournament will end on July 18.