By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – The Mozambique post elections protests have seen the Council of Southern African Football Association (COSAFA) moving the Under-17 Boys and Girls tournament to neighboring country, South Africa.
The county’s national teams for the Under-17 boys and girls will now travel to South Africa for the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations/ COSAFA Qualifier and COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship.
The tournaments have been moved to Johannesburg, South Africa from the original host nation Mozambique due to the post-election protests in the country.
According to cosafa.com, the tournament dates of December 4-13, 2024 remain the same, as do the previously concluded draws in both competitions.
The decision was made in the best interests of the teams and stakeholders, and was not taken lightly after Mozambique proved an excellent host for the TotalEnergies Confederations of African Football (CAF) Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations/ COSAFA Qualifier that concluded in October.
The exact venues for the matches will be communicated in the coming days once final inspections have been completed.
The Boys’ competition is a continental qualifier for the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2025; while the Girls’ competition will see the 12 competing teams battle it out for the coveted regional trophy.
In boys’ competition, Mozambique was drawn with Angola in Group A, while they also face Malawi and Lesotho.
Group B contains holders Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini, while Group C has hosts South Africa, Botswana, Comoros and Mauritius. Only the top team in each pool advances to the semifinals along with the best-placed runner-up, providing little margin for error.
The COSAFA Under-17 Championship has been played under several guises in the past, including as part of the AUSC Region 5 Games, though the tournament was organised by COSAFA.
The draw in the Girls’ competition has also already been made and Group A contains Mozambique, Comoros, Eswatini and Lesotho, while Group B has holders South Africa, Malawi, Namibia and Madagascar. Group C comprises Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mauritius.
Eswatini teams have already started preparing for the tournaments and the coaches are expected to announce the squads soon.
