Several withdrawals from the Boys’ and Girls’ football tournaments at the Region 5 Games Maseru 2020 have forced a change to the fixtures for both events that are being organised by COSAFA.

South Africa have pulled out of the competition citing the late return of amateur football in the country in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made it difficult for coaches to scout players and put together teams for the trip to Maseru.

Mauritius will also not travel due to a tightening of COVID-19 regulations in the country, which includes a halt to football activities

Madagascar are the third country to withdraw due to the pandemic and the difficulty with travel to and from the island, which also forced them out of the recent COSAFA Beach Soccer Championship that was played in Durban.

“We are obviously disappointed to have lost these countries for the two events, but these are the realities of the world we live in right now,” COSAFA General Secretary Sue Destombes said. “We are however delighted to be able to provide this platform for the Boys and Girls at the Region 5 Games Maseru 2020 and are looking forward to the kick-off next week.”

It means the Boys’ tournament in Maseru is now an eight-team event with the sides split into two groups.

Group A will kick-off the tournament on November 30 as Zimbabwe take on Eswatini (10h00 CAT), followed by a clash between hosts Lesotho and Zambia (13h00).

The afternoon matches will see the teams in Group B in action as Botswana tackle Angola (15h30) and Malawi take on Seychelles (18h00).

The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semifinals, with the decider to take place on December 8. All matches will be staged at the Setsotso Stadium.

The Girls’ competition is now a five-team event with all sides in a single pool. That gets underway on December 1 when Zambia play Botswana (10h00), before Zimbabwe meet Comoros Islands later at 13h00.

The fifth side, Namibia, will make their bow against Zambia on December 4 at 10h00. Each team will play two games in the pool due to the congestion of matches, with the side that finishes top taking on the fourth-placed finisher in the semifinals.

The team that ends in second place will meet the country that finishes in third in the other semi. The winners of those two games meet in the final on December 8.

You can view the Boys’ fixtures for the Region 5 Games Maseru here

You can view the Girls’ fixtures for the Region 5 Games Maseru here