Madagascar make return to COSAFA Under-17 Championships
The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 11-20 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.
It will be fascinating to see which sides emerge to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.
The sixth part of our team profiles looks at Madagascar, who return to the competition for the first time since 2017.
MADAGASCAR
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Did not enter
2024 – Did not enter
Madagascar are back in the mix at the regional Under-17 championship having missed the previous six editions.
They will be looking to advance from the pool stage for the first time having appeared three times before in 2001, 2016 and 2017.
They were in a pool with Eswatini and Angola on debut 24 years ago but could not advance.
They did not appear again until 2016, when they lost all three matches, going down to Malawi (1-2), East African guest nation Kenya (1-2) and Zambia (0-2).
They were back the following year but found the going even tough with another three defeats. They lost 1-7 to Zambia, 0-2 to Mozambique and 3-5 to South Africa.
But there is no doubt that football in Madagascar is on the rise and the new generation of players will want to show that improvement.
Having returned to this stage it is a chance to showcase their quality and qualify for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time.
