History of the COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship
The COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship will be played as part of this year’s Region 5 Games in Windhoek, Namibia from July 4-13, the latest installment of the vital age-group tournament that has been a breeding ground for so much Southern African talent down the years.
South Africa were victorious in the last edition in Mozambique in 2024, and have since gone on to be crowned African champions after lifting the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt last month.
That edition was a continental qualifier, but with the African championship being played every two years, teams are fighting for regional glory only.
Running through the list of past stars to grace the finals, it reads like a Who’s Who of Southern African football and all will have benefitted from the exposure they got to top level competition.
From a South African perspective, the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Lerato Chabangu, Daine Klate, Elrio van Heerden and Lyle Foster all represented their country at this level and gone on to forge successful club and international careers.
Other young stars such as Clifford Mulenga and Isaac Chansa (both Zambia), Tinashe Nengomasha and Onismor Bhasera (both Zimbabwe), as well as Jimmy Zakazaka (Malawi), have used the tournament to persuade clubs outside of their country that they have a bright future in the game.
The tournament was first played 42 year ago in 1983, but was a little-recognised get-together of a few of the stalwarts of the region, including Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana.
The Apartheid laws of South Africa at the time meant they were excluded, and the country only entered the fray for the first time in 1993.
Those 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 in 2013, the previous two installments, in 2010 and 2011, were hosted by Botswana, with Zambia extending their winning streak to three with success in both.
They added a 10th title in 2016 when they romped through the competition, defeating hosts South Africa 2-1 in the final.
South Africa regained the trophy in 2017 though after Zambia surprisingly exited in the pool stages.
And they won again in 2018, this time defeated Zimbabwe in the final after a tense penalty shoot-out.
But Zambia are always in contention and they raced the title on home soil in 2019, defeating old enemy South Africa 3-0 in the decider to complete an excellent tournament.
Mozambique have long produced excellent footballers and they finally got some reward at junior level as they lifted the torphy for the first time in 2020.
They did it the hard way too, seeing off South Africa in the pool stages before defeating Zambia on penalties in the semifinals. They triumphed after a 1-0 win over Namibia in the final.
Zambia were back on top when they beat Mozambique 1-0 in the decider in 2022. There was no competition in 2023, before South Africa regained the title last year.
But more than lifting the trophy, the comeptition is about developing the talent of tomorrow and giving young players the chance to tackle their peers in a highly-competitive environment that should help to prepare them for the challenges of senior international football.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1983 Zambia
1985 Zimbabwe
1986 Zambia
1988 Zimbabwe
1990 Zimbabwe
1993 Zambia
1995 Zambia
1997 Zambia
1999 Zambia
2000 South Africa
2001 Zimbabwe
2002 Zimbabwe
2003 Zambia
2004 South Africa
2005 Madagascar
2006 South Africa
2007 Zimbabwe
2008 South Africa
2009 South Africa
2010 Zambia
2011 Zambia
2013 South Africa
2016 Zambia
2017 South Africa
2018 South Africa
2019 Zambia
2020 Mozambique
2022 Zambia
2024 South Africa
TITLE WINS
12 – Zambia
9 – South Africa
6 – Zimbabwe
1 – Madagascar, Mozambique