Angola will be aiming high when they take their place in the Boys’ and Girls’ competition at the 2024 African Schools Football Championship (ASFC) COSAFA Qualifier to be staged in Walvis Bay, Namibia from October 11-13.

The country has long been a hot bed of talent in the Southern African region but that has as yet not manifested itself at the Under-15 level, though their Boys side did finish third in the inaugural zonal qualifiers in Malawi in 2022.

Neither of their teams made it out of the group stages in Harare, Zimbabwe last year where it proved something of a chastening experience as their teams lost seven of their eight matches combined, but a 1-0 win for the Girls over Madagascar offered some promise.

The Boys side had much more success in 2022 as they were represented by the Rosinha school, who topped their pool with a pair of victories before they lost to eventual winners Clapham High School from South Africa in the semifinals.

They managed to take home the bronze medal following a 3-0 victory over IQRA School from Comoros in the third-place play-off.

They will take their place in Namibia among nine countries who will take part, alongside the hosts, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Under-15 age group offers young players a first foray into international football and in many cases a first trip outside the country and exposure to their peers around the region.

Angola will no doubt have learnt from their past difficulties and with teams selected from the best of the available talent in the country, expect them to be vastly improved in Namibia

“We consider this tournament important because it opens up a perspective of competition for this Uncder-15 age group and allows the sport to become more popular in schools,” Miller Gomes, Technical Director of the Angolan Football Federation, said previously.

“It will allow for greater interaction with other cultures and strengthen the spirit of solidarity and citizenship.”

Angola is the home of current COSAFA President Artur de Almeida e Silva, who has also welcomed the return of the competition for a third year.

“This is much more than a school’s competition, it is a first introduction to international football for the vast majority of these players,” Artur said previously. “The Under-15 age group category is a crucial one and gives these young players a taste of what it takes to challenge their peers in the region.

“We applaud CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe for his vision in introducing this vital competition and will build on the success of the last competition, where we (COSAFA) also were honoured to host the continental finals.”

The draw for the nine-team tournament will be made in Walvis Bay ahead of the competition.

ANGOLA’S PAST RESULTS
BOYS
2022: Third
2023: Group Stage

GIRLS
2022: Did not enter
2023: Group Stage