The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier will be staged in Johannesburg from December 4-13 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.
To do that they much seal a place in the final and it will be fascinating to see which sides emerge in the coming weeks to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.
The second part of our team profiles looks at Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius and Mozambique, and their recent history in the competition.
If you missed our Angola, Botswana, Comoros and Eswatini profiles, you can find them here.
LESOTHO
Last five tournament finishes:
2018 – Group Stages
2019 – Group Stages
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Group Stages
2022 – Did not enter
Lesotho have appeared in most of the COSAFA Under-17 Championships that have been played to date, though they did sit out two of the previous five tournaments as they did not appear in 2020 or 2022.
They played just one match in 2001 after one of their pool opponents, Mozambique, were disqualified for fielding 10 over-age players, and a 3-0 loss to Zambia meant another pool stage exit.
Lesotho returned in 2002 and draws with Eswatini (0-0) and Botswana (2-2) were followed by a 4-0 loss to South Africa that ended their campaign. The 2007 tournament involved a 5-0 loss to South Africa as well, but also a 1-0 win over Mauritius.
They did not return again until 2018, when they again exited at the first stage. They claimed an excellent 0-0 draw with South Africa but followed that up with losses to Zambia (0-1) and Mozambique (1-2).
The team found the going tough in 2019 when they lost all three games, going down to Comoros (0-1), Angola (1-3) and Mozambique (1-4), and in 2021 on home soil they took a single point from their two games and exited at the first stage.
Lesotho have never qualified for the continental or global finals at this age-group level.
MALAWI
Last five tournament finishes:
2018 – Group Stages
2019 – Group Stages
2020 – Fourth
2021 – Third
2022 – Third
Malawi have finished third at the last two tournaments played and will be desperate to at least go one better and make the final this time round to qualify for continental competition having been winner of the regional event in 2001.
Malawi’s star of that 2001 competition was Robert Ng’ambi, who would go on to have a superb career in South Africa and with the Malawi senior national team.
They breezed through their group on that occasion with wins over Botswana (2-0) and Mauritius (4-0), before defeating Zambia 5-4 in the semifinals.
That set up a decider with South Africa and Malawi prevailed with a comfortable 3-0 scoreline to lift the trophy.
They skipped the 2002 tournament and reached the semifinals again in 2007 and 2016, and finished fourth in a four-team tournament in 2020 that was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
They reached the semifinals in 2021 but lost to Zambia before a 4-0 victory over Eswatini in the bronze medal match.
They were back in the last-4 in 2022, but last heavily to south Africa and then defeated Botswana 5-2 to take the bronze.
MAURITIUS
Last five tournament finishes:
2018 – Fourth
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Did not enter
Mauritius make a welcome return to the COSAFA Men’s Under-17 Championship having not appeared since they finished fourth on home soil in 2018.
On that occasion they recorded wins over Namibia (1-0) and Seychelles (6-1) and advanced to the semifinals despite an opening 1-0 defeat by Botswana. They went through as the best runner-up.
They were beaten 2-0 by South Africa in the semifinals, and then lost 2-1 to Namibia in the battle for bronze.
They were finalists in 2017 in a tournament they also hosted, beating South Africa 2-0 in the semifinals, but losing 3-0 to Zambia in the decider. It is the closest they have come to lifting the trophy.
MOZAMBIQUE
Last five tournament finishes:
2018 – Group Stages
2019 – Runners-Up
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Group Stages
Mozambique have been sporadic participants in the COSAFA Under-17 Championships down the years but were runners-up five years ago, one of two times they have claimed the silver medal. They have yet to be crowned champions.
were runners-up in the very first competition played 1994 when they topped their pool with wins over Botswana and Lesotho, both by 1-0 scorelines, and played to a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe.
The team beat Zambia 2-1 in the semifinals, but then lost by the same scoreline to South Africa in the decider.
The team was disqualified from the 2001 tournament after fielding ineligible players, and quite incredibly did not return until 2017.
In 2019 they went very close to lifting the trophy as they beat old foes Angola 1-0, drew 0-0 with Comoros and then defeated Lesotho 4-1 to top their pool and book a semifinal slot.
They met Eswatini in the Last 4 and a 1-0 victory there set up a final against Zambia, where they finally came unstuck, losing 2-0.
Mozambique have twice before qualified for the African Under-17 Championships, but exited in the group stages on both occasions in 1995 and 2001.
