Angola seek improvement at Schools Championship in Stellenbosch
Angola will be aiming high when they take their place in the Boys’ and Girls’ competitions at the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier to be staged in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from December 5–7.
The country has long been a hotbed of talent in the Southern African region, but that has not yet 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, in 2023, where it proved to be a chastening experience as their sides lost seven of their eight matches combined. However, a 1-0 win for the Girls over Madagascar offered some promise.
They returned again in Walvis Bay, Namibia, in 2024, where the Boys drew two of their three matches and lost the other, failing to advance from their group. The Girls lost all three games, conceding 26 goals and scoring none, a clear sign there is much room for improvement.
The Boys’ side had much more success in 2022 when they were represented by the Rosinha School, who topped their pool with two victories before losing 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 South Africa among 11 countries who will participate, the others being Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, 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 their country and exposure to their peers from around the region.
Angola will no doubt have learned from their past difficulties, and with teams selected from the best available talent in the country, they are expected to be vastly improved in South Africa.
The draw for this year’s the 11-team tournament in Stellenbosch will be made a few days before the competition.
ANGOLA’S PAST FINISHES
BOYS
2022: Third
2023: Group Stage
2024: Group Stage
GIRLS
2022: Did not enter
2023: Group Stage
2024: Group Stage
ANGOLA’S PAST RESULTS
BOYS
2022
IQRA School 0 Rosinha 2
Rosinha 3 Thamaga JSS 0
Rosinha 0 Clapham High 6
IQRA School 0 Rosinha 3
2023
Angola 0-3 Madagascar
Angola 1-2 Zambia
Angola 0-1 Namibia
2024
Angola 1-1 Eswatini
South Africa 3-0 Angola
Angola 1-1 Zimbabwe
GIRLS
2023
Angola 1-0 Madagascar
Angola 0-8 Zambia
Angola 1-2 Namibia
2024
Angola 0-5 Eswatini
South Africa 13-0 Angola
Angola 0-8 Zimbabwe
