Council of Southern Africa Football Association (COSAFA) has made a breakthrough by introducing the Under-17 girl’s tournament for the first time to be staged in Mauritius from the 20th until the 30th of next month.
The draw was made on Wednesday in Johannesburg comprising of eight teams. South Africa will be in group B alongside Botswana, Seychelles and Madagascar. Host nation Mauritius will be in Group A alongside Comoros, Uganda and Zambia.
Cosafa General-Secretary Sue Destombes is happy for introducing the U17 girl’s tournament.
The U17 is considered the most critical introduction to international football since it is the youngest category in the FIFA and CAF events. Destombes acknowledges the importance of organizing U17 tournaments.
Cosafa recently hosted the U20 and senior women’s tournament in Port Elizabeth earlier this month.
Banyana Banyana won the senior event while Tanzania clinched the U20 tournament. Destombes is impressed minnows such as Comoros, Madagascar and Mauritius have improved in leaps and bounds recently.
South African Football Association Technical Director Neil Tovey has also acknowledged the importance of U17 tournament. SA U17 national team Bantwana took part at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Uruguay last year.
SA U17 boys will also take part in the COSAFA tournament in Malawi from the 11th until the 21st of October.
Amajita have been paired in Group A against host nation Malawi, Botswana and Zambia. Group B will comprise of Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique and Comoros. Tovey says there are no easy groups. – Report by Vincent Sitsula
MEN’S UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW (OCT 11-20)
A1 – Malawi
A2 – South Africa
A3 – Botswana
A4 – ZambiaB1 – Angola
B2 – Lesotho
B3 – Mozambique
B4 – Comoros— COSAFA (@COSAFAMEDIA) August 28, 2019
WOMEN’S UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW (SEPT 20-29)
A1 – Mauritius
A2 – Comoros
A3 – Uganda
A4 – ZambiaB1 – South Africa
B2 – Botswana
B3 – Seychelles
B4 – Madagascar— COSAFA (@COSAFAMEDIA) August 28, 2019