COSAFA Under 17 Championships Set to  Kickoff in SA

By McGeorge Mbare

The COSAFA under 17 girls championship is set to kick off on December, 4, 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa alongside the U17 Boys TotalEnergies AFCON COSAFA qualifiers

Despite the venue change from Mozambique to South Africa due to the post-election protest in the country, the 5th edition of the championship will get underway on schedule running for 10 days.

Eswatini will battle against Lesotho at UJ AW Muller Stadium in a group A clash in the opening match of the tournament while Mozambique will take on Comoros in the afternoon of the same day. Additionally the host nation and defending champions, South Africa will play their opening group B match against Namibia on the following day.

In other matches, Zimbabwe will play their opening group C match against Mauritius and Young Warriors will be looking forward to make history by winning the trophy, having several players looking forward to seek exposure in this tournament whilst Mauritius will also be coming in to fight to change its history in this tournament.

The 2022 COSAFA U17girls championship was won by South Africa, making it their first championship in this tournament after defeating Zambia in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Elsewhere, The U17 boys’ championship opening match will be amongst Lesotho and Angola followed by Mozambique and Malawi on group A. Zimbabwe will face Eswatini in group B at the same time the battle of the islanders between Comoros and Mauritius will beon. 

More importantly, the COSAFA U17 boys’ championship, will also serve as a qualifiers for the continental U17 competition in Cote d’ivoire in 2025.