Cosafa's U15 schools teams clash at Walvis Bay

Hosts Namibia will face a tough schedule at the CAF African Schools Football Championship’s Cosafa Qualifier 2024, following the official draw held in Walvis Bay on Wednesday. All matches between the eight competing nations will be played on two pitches at the Jan Wilken Stadium.Eight teams from around the Southern African region battle for a single place at the continental finals in both the boys and girls competitions.At Wednesday’s draw the teams were placed as follows (same for boys and girls):Pool A: Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho.Pool B: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, Eswatini.The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals, and only the victor who lifts the trophy earns a place at the continental showpiece event.It will be the third staging of the Under-15 regional qualifiers after Lilongwe, Malawi in 2022 and Harare, Zimbabwe in 2023, both of which were won by South Africa in the boys and girls categories.There is a change to the girls competition this year as it will be 11-a-side (as opposed to 8-a-side previously) and played on a full-size pitch. In previous tournaments they played half-size.The format moved away from individual schools in 2023, but South Africa prevailed in the boys’ competition with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Malawi in the decider, while the SA girls’ team beat Botswana 3-1.In this year’s continental finals in Zanzibar in May, the winners of both the boys’ and girls’ competition each received USD300 000 prize money to be utilised for development projects within schools.The runners-up received USD 200 000, while the bronze medalists took home USD150 000.“Schools football is at the heart of the long-term development and growth of African football. One of the best investments that we can make to ensure that African football is amongst the best world, is to invest in schools’ football and football infrastructure for boys and girls at school, amateur and professional level,” CAF president Dr Patrice Motsepe has said previously.The boys and girls teams will compete concurrently, with matches played on two pitches at the Jan Wilken Stadium, ensuring that fans get a full weekend of football action. Games will kick off at 09:00 on both days, with the final match of the day starting at 15:30.Continental gloryThe stakes are high, as the winners in both the boys and girls competitions will earn a place in the CAF African Schools Football Championship continental phase, set for April–May 2025. The venue for the continental competition is yet to be confirmed.FRIDAY FIXTURES1 Namibia v Malawi (Boys) 09:002 Namibia v Malawi (Girls) 09:003 Zambia v Lesotho (Boys) 10:004 Zambia v Lesotho (Girls) 10:005 South Africa v Zimbabwe (Boys) 11:006 South Africa v Zimbabwe (Girls) 11:007 Angola v Eswatini (Boys) 12:008 Angola v Eswatini (Girls) 12:00Opening ceremony 13:10–13:2011 Namibia v Zambia (Boys) 13:3010 Namibia v Zambia (Girls) 13:3011 Malawi v Lesotho (Boys) 14:3012 Malawi v Lesotho (Girls) 14:3013 South Africa v Angola (Boys) 15:3014 South Africa v Angola (Girls) 15:30SATURDAY FIXTURES15 Zimbabwe v Eswatini (Boys) 09:0016 Zimbabwe v Eswatini (Girls) 09:0017 Namibia v Lesotho (Boys) 10:0018 Namibia v Lesotho (Girls) 10:0019 Zambia v Malawi (Boys) 11:0020 Zambia v Malawi (Girls) 11:0021 South Africa v Eswatini (Boys) 12:0022 South Africa v Eswatini (Girls) 12:0023 Angola v Zimbabwe (Boys) 13:0024 Angola v Zimbabwe (Girls) 13:00Semifinals25 Winner A v Runner-up B (Boys) 15:0026 Winner A v Runner-up B (Girls) 15:0027 Winner B v Runner-up A (Boys) 16:0028 Winner B v Runner-up A (Girls) 16:00SUNDAY29 Girls FINAL, 09:0030 Boys FINAL, 10:00

Cosafa's U15 schools teams clash at Walvis Bay

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-16

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Cosafa's U15 schools teams clash at Walvis Bay

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Namibian Sun 2025-10-16

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