We tally up all the facts and figures around the 2022 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier that will be played as part of the AUSC Region 5 Games in Lilongwe, Malawi from December 2-11. 

0 – No nation from the COSAFA region has managed to lift the CAF Under-17 Cup of Nations in the past. South Africa came closest when they picked up a silver medal in 2015. Angola took home bronze in 2019. South Africa and Zambia were due to take part in the 2021 event in Morocco, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

2 – Two teams will qualify for the 2023 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. The sides that make the final in Malawi will both book their passage to the continental event, irrespective of the scoreline on the day.  

2 – Algeria are hosting the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for the second time after their maiden tournament in 2009. They lost 3-1 to Gambia in the final and Malawi made the semifinals that year!  

3 – Malawi will play host to the COSAFA Men’s Under-17 Championship for the third time, one of only six nations to have staged the event. That is the joint record along with South Africa and Mauritius, who are also three-time hosts. Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho have hosted once each. 

3 – The biggest winning margin in the final of the competition is 3-0, when Malawi beat South Africa in 2001 and Zambia defeated Mauritius in 2017. 
 
3 – Three previous finals have gone to penalties as Zimbabwe edged South Africa (2007), Namibia did likewise (2016) and South Africa finally won a shoot-out in 2020, beating Zambia. 

4 – The biggest victory in last year’s competition saw Malawi defeat Eswatini 4-0 in the pool stages.  

5 – Joseph Banda (Zambia) has been top-scorer in the last two tournaments, scoring five goals in both 2020 and 2021. He was also named Player of the Tournament last year. Remarkably, he is still only 16 and is set to feature again this year!  
 
7 – South Africa have reached the greatest number of finals in this age-group with seven but have only won in three of those. They beat Mozambique (1994), Eswatini (2002) and Zambia (2020), but have lost to Malawi (2001), Zimbabwe (2007), Namibia (2016) and Angola (2018). 

9 – There have been 10 other tournaments played loosely under the banner of a regional Men’s Under-17 championship. South Africa have won three of these in 1994, 2002 and 2020, while Angola (2018 & 2021) and Zambia (2017 & 2019) are next on the list. Malawi claimed success in 2001. Zimbabwe lifted the title in 2007, while Namibia were victorious in 2016. 

9 – There will be nine teams entered into the 2022 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations | COSAFA Qualifier, namely Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia. The teams have been split into three groups of three each.  

12 – The 2023 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations has been expended from eight teams at the finals to 12 for the first time.  

14 – The COSAFA Under-17 Championship is open to all 14 of the nations that make up the Southern African regional body.  

29 – There were 29 goals scored in the 10 games played in a shortened competition last year, almost three per game.   

2006 – For players to be eligible for the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Algeria, they must have been born on or after January 1, 2006.