THE Young Warriors, Zimbabwe’s national Under-20 soccer team was handed a tough draw when they were put in the same group with Zambia for this year’s Cosafa Championships to be held in Maputo.
The draw was conducted in the Mozambican capital on Thursday.
Botswana and Mauritius are the others countries in the pool in which Zambia who dominated the first nine tournaments after inception in 1983, winning six and Zimbabwe three, will be favourites once again.
Hosts Mozambique are in Group A along with Comoros, Eswatini and Lesotho, while Group B has holders South Africa, Malawi, Namibia and Madagascar.
Only the top team in each pool and the best placed runners-up advance to the last four.
“This moment is a symbol of the trust placed on us,” Mozambican Football Federation president Feizal Sidat said.
“By selecting Mozambique as host of these prestigious tournaments, Cosafa has shown deep confidence in our country, our federation, our government and our organising capabilities.
“For this season I must thank Cosafa for this opportunity they have given our country. This goes beyond sport, it is a message of unity, co-operation and development for our youth, which are fundamental for building our football into the future.
“By hosting these tournaments, we show our commitment to growing football in our region. We are fully open to future opportunities to host more events and eager to support Cosafa in any way necessary.”
Timothy Shongwe, who heads up the Cosafa Competitions Committee, expressed the organisation’s thanks to Mozambique for playing host to three tournaments.
“We are very grateful for your hosting of our events,” Shongwe said.
“We are currently working very well with the Mozambican Football Federation in terms of putting together the Under-20 and two Under-17 competitions.
“I would like to pay tribute to the Mozambican Football Federation for having afforded us this opportunity. These competitions are very important to our youth, we must expose them to international football before the senior team level to make their development path smoother.”
The Under-17s’ event will run from December 5-15 with the Under-20s in action from September 26-October 5.
The Draw for the Men’s Under-20s
GROUP A: Mozambique Eswatini Zimbabwe Botswana
GROUP B: Zambia Angola Namibia
GROUP C: South Africa Malawi Comoros Lesotho
Under-17 Draw
GROUP A: Mozambique Malawi Lesotho Angola
GROUP B: Zambia Namibia Zimbabwe Eswatini
GROUP C: South Africa Botswana Comoros Mauritius
2024 Cosafa Women’s Under-17 Championships
GROUP A: Mozambique Comoros Eswatini Lesotho
GROUP B: South Africa Malawi Namibia Madagascar
GROUP C: Zambia Botswana Zimbabwe Mauritius
