Quick guide to the COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship teams

The five teams that will compete at the 2024 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship in Johannesburg from November 19-24 have varied experience in this age-group on the continent.

Some have a rich history, while for others it has been a gradual growth and they hope this tournament can accelerate their plans. Here is a quick guide to the competing sides.

 

BOTSWANA
Botswana have been regular participants at Women’s Under-20 level and were finalists at the 2018 AUSC Region 5 Games in Gaborone, where they lost 1-0 in the decider to South Africa. It was still a fine campaign for the side and shows their potential.

They also won silver at the 2014 Games, which featured only four sides and was played in a round-robin format, but did not appear two years later in Luanda.
They exited in the first round of the inaugural 2019 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship, despite. 3-0 win over Eswatini in their final group game. Defeats to eventual winners Tanzania (0-2) and finalists Zambia (1-4) put them on the back foot in a tough pool.

Botswana have entered each of the last eight CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup but have not managed to make significant progress.

They have endured first round exits to Ghana (4-10 on aggregate), Namibia (on pens after 3-3 draw), South Africa (2-7 in 2012 and 2014; 1-9 in 2015), and a walkover loss to Kenya in 2018.

They made the third round in the 2022 qualifiers but lost 8-2 on aggregate to Ethiopia, and in 2024 preliminaries lost 6-1 on aggregate to Cameroon in the second round.

A lot of effort has been made to improve women’s football in the country and this tournament gives them a chance to showcase their rise.

 

LESOTHO
Lesotho did not play in the 2014 or 2016 AUSC Region 5 Games but did feature in 2018 when they exited in the group stages. They lost 0-3 to Zimbabwe, 1-6 to Malawi and 0-6 to Botswana in a tough outing for the side.

They also did not feature in the inaugural 2019 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship, so will be on debut the finals in Johannesburg, where they will hope to show their potential in women’s football.

They entered the preliminary stage for the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup ahead of the 2008 tournament, but lost 2-4 on aggregate to Botswana following a 1-1 home draw and a 1-3 away loss.
They tried again for the 2012 tournament but were defeated at the preliminary stage by Kenya, again going down 2-4 on aggregate. They have not been in the qualifiers again since.

But the fact that they have decided to enter the 2024 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship shows the ambition to improve at this level and with the likes of Boitumelo Rabale as role-models for the next generation, there is lots to be hopeful for.

 

MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique did not feature in any of the AUSC Region 5 Games that were used as a regional Uner-20 competition prior to the inaugural COSAFA event in 2019.
And that lack of experience showed as they lost all three games in Gqeberha and exit the competition in the pool stages.
The side went down 1-2 to Namibia, 0-4 to Zimbabwe and 1-3 to South Africa, to at least show they could be competitive in some of those matches.
This time round there will be bigger expectations on their shoulders to see the lessons learned from that competition, even if it is with a totally new set of players. They can show the progress that has been made in women’s football in the country.

After sitting out several times in the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, they returned to have a shot at the 2022 finals.
They beat Eswatini 2-0 on aggregate in the first round but lost 2-4 to South Africa at the next stage.

They found the going tougher in the preliminaries for the 2024 finals where they lost 0-8 on aggregate to Uganda in the second round.

In their first qualification campaign in 2006, the side ousted Zambia (5-2 on aggregate) in the first round, before losing to South Africa (0-9).

They were beaten by the same opposition two years later (1-7), and then lost to Zimbabwe (0-7) in 2012 and Tanzania (1-15) in 2014.

 

SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa have been a power in the region at this level in recent years and will be among the heavy favourites to lift the title on home soil.

They have won the three AUSC Region 5 Games women’s under-20 tournaments that were played between 2014 and 2018, and finished third in the inaugural 2019 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship.

They breezed through their group at the latter competition with three wins over Zimbabwe (3-0), Namibia (1-0) and Mozambique (3-1), but came unstuck in the semifinals where they lost 0-2 to eventual champions Tanzania.

They played Zimbabwe again in the battle for bronze and edged the tie 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

They claimed the round-robin AUSC competition in 2014 with three wins against Botswana (3-1), Zimbabwe (5-0) and Namibia (6-1).

Two years later they repeated the feat, beating Namibia in the final as current Banyana

Banyana stars such as Linda Motlhalo shone.

At the last finals in 2018, the side were victorious again, this time beating hosts Botswana 1-0 in the decider.

South Africa have entered every campaign for the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup , but failed at the final hurdle on five occasions, never making it through to the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

A combination of Nigeria, DR Congo and Ghana have denied them a place at the global finals down the years, while they were beaten by Uganda in the third round in 2022 and Burundi on away goals in the second round ahead of 2024.

 

ZAMBIA
Zambia have traditionally been one of the top sides in the COSAFA region across all ages and gender in football, winning titles and reaching finals with regularity.

They were runners-up at the inaugural 2019 COSAFA Under-20 Women’s Championship that was staged in Gqeberha, South Africa.

They breezed through their group with wins over Eswatini (4-0), Botswana (4-1) and Tanzania (2-1), and then defeated Zimbabwe 1-0 in the semifinals.

That set up a second match against Tanzania and this time it was the East African guest nation that triumphed 2-1.

Zambia did not participate in the 2014 or 2016 AUSC Region 5 Games that had a women’s Under-20 competition, but did reach the semifinals of the 2018 competition.

There they came up against Tanzania as well and were edged on penalties, before losing to Eswatini 0-1 in the bronze-medal match.

They were defeated in the quarterfinals of the continental qualifiers in 2002, losing 4-2 on aggregate to South Africa, and then have lost to Mozambique (2-5 in 2006), Egypt (on away goals after 3-3 draw in 2008), South Africa again in 2010 (2-7) and 2015 (2-3), Kenya (2-5 in 2012) and Equatorial Guinea (0-6) in 2014.

South Africa edged them 2-3 on aggregate for the 2016 global finals, while they did not enter in 2018 and lost to Ghana 0-1 in the 2022 qualifiers and on away goals to DR Congo for 2024.