Stage set for COSAFA Under-20 Championship in Mozambique

The COSAFA Under-20 Championship will return in 2024 to be staged in Maputo, Mozambique from September 26-October 5, with the 12 competing teams eyeing a place at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations next year.

Mozambique, who won the competition in 2020, will be welcome hosts for the regional championship that will feature 12 sides, with the top two from the COSAFA region advancing to the continental finals.

The draw for the regional finals will take place in Maputo on Thursday, September 5 at 11h00 CAT, where the 12 teams will learn their fate.

At the same time the draws for the COSAFA Men’s Under-17 Championship and COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, which are also to be hosted in Maputo from December 5-15, will be conducted.

The teams in the U20 draw will be split into three groups each containing four sides, with the top side in each pool and the best placed runner-up advancing to the semifinals. The winners of those semis will not only have a shot at the title, but also earn their place at the continental event.

Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe will be in the draw, with only Mauritius and Seychelles not competing this time round.

The group games will take place from September 26 to October 1, with the semifinals to be played two days later. The final will be on October 5, with no third-place play-off.

Holders Zambia are record 12-time winners of the regional finals, with South Africa claiming eight victories, though none since 2018. Zimbabwe have been champions six times, and Madagascar and Mozambique once each.

The early years were dominated by the ‘Two Zs’, with Zambia winning six and Zimbabwe three of the first nine tournaments held.

South Africa were the first team to break the mould when they triumphed in 2000, having been losing finalists in 1995 and 1999.

A year earlier, in 1999, they had taken over the hosting of the event, which before then had been spread around the region. Each tournament up until 2009 was held in the Rainbow Nation, but the winners were less easy to predict.

Madagascar became only the fourth country to win the event when they surprisingly triumphed in 2005, beating shock finalists Lesotho 1-0 in the final.

Before Lesotho three years ago, the previous two instalments, in 2010 and 2011, were hosted by Botswana, with Zambia extending their winning streak to three with success in both.

They added an 11th title in 2016 when they romped through the competition, defeating hosts South Africa 2-1 in the final, before bringing up a dozen in 2022 as they defeated Mozambique.

Both those sides went on to compete in the 2023 TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, though neither got out of their pool.

But more than lifting the trophy, the COSAFA tournament is about developing the talent of tomorrow and giving young players the chance to compete with their peers in a highly competitive environment that should help to prepare them for the challenges of senior international football.