Comoros will hope to show their continued improvement when they compete in the COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship at the Region 5 Games Lilongwe that runs from December 1-10.
Comoros are a late entry into the field for the women’s competition which will take the number of teams to six. That means organisers have moved away from a single group format and the teams will instead be split into two pools of three, which will necessitate a draw to be held at COSAFA House on Monday, November 14.
It is fair to say Comoros had a baptism of fire in the 2019 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championships but had already shown significant improvement when they returned for the 2020 edition.
They were due to compete in Maseru in 2021 as well, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant they were absent.
There is a great determination in the country to improve all levels of football and so this is another chance for international experience and the opportunity to take another step forward.
The going was tough on debut three years ago when they started with a 5-1 loss to hosts Mauritius, before going down 15-0 to powerful Zambia. That was followed by a 20-0 defeat at the hands of eventual winners Uganda.
But the results were not as one-sided the following year, despite the fact they lost all four pool games.
They went down 5-1 to eventual champions Tanzania, before games against Zimbabwe (2-3), Zambia (0-3) and South Africa (0-9).
The team went from averaging over 13 goals conceded a game to just five per match. They will also feel they can build on their four goals scored.
COMOROS’ COSAFA WOMEN’S UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD
Tournament finishes:
2019 – Group Stages
2020 – Group Stages
2021 – Did not enter
Match record:
P W D L GF GA
7 7 0 7 4 60
Biggest victory: –
Biggest defeat: 0-20 vs Uganda (Group Stage, 24/09/2019)
ALL-TIME GOALSCORERS
1 goal – Moinahedji Ali, Anllaouia Hadhirami Ali, Abdourahmane Hairyat, Zaharouna Haoudadji