By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – The National Girls Under-17 Football team will be part of the 12 countries to compete in the COSAFA Girls Under-17 Championships.
The tournament will be held from December 4 to 13, 2024 in Matola, Mozambique with the local side drawn in group A alongside Comoros, Mozambique and Lesotho. Group B is made up of holders, South Africa, Malawi, Namibia and Madagascar while group C comprise of Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
According to the Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA), the girls tournament will run alongside the CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 Qualifiers for boys that will also be held at the same venue, the superb facility of the Black Bulls club were Mbabane Swallows played their CAF Champions League early September.
Eswatini is also expected to send the Boys Under-17 squad.
This tournament have been played through partnership by COSAFA with the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region V in the past, but this year it is a standalone competition only under the COSAFA banner.
Eswatini Under-17 Girls are yet to win the tournament or reach the knockout stage.
COSAFA stated that several players who have competed in this competition in the past editions have gone on to become senior international with some of the Senior National Women’s team, Sitsebe players having graduated from this tournament.
