malvernmugadzikwa
Online Reporter
THE stage has now been set for the CAF African Schools Football Championship, COSAFA qualifiers which bursts into life at Harare’s Gateway High School.
Southern Africa’s top young boys and girls in the Under-15 age-group will compete to be crowned champions of the region.
The 10-team competition will be a festival of schools football over three days, culminating in the finals of the boys’ and girls’ competitions on Saturday.
It is a welcome return for COSAFA to Zimbabwe, a nation that has successfully hosted several competitions in the past and has been a steady supplier of excellent young talent to the region.
Organisers of the tourney revealed that those wishing to support the teams are welcome to attend, with matches on four pitches starting at 09h00 on all three days.
Hosts Zimbabwe will take on Malawi and Botswana clash with Eswatini in the Group A openers in the boys’ competition on Thursday, while at the same venue those nations will clash in the girls’ tournament too.
South Africa and Angola open their bid for glory in the boys’ and girls’ competitions with a Group B clash at 10 a.m , while Zambia and Namibia do likewise on another pitch at the same time.
There will be a total of 20 fixtures played on the opening day, with 20 more scheduled for Friday, when the group phase will come to a close.
The winners of each of the two pools in both the boys’ and girls’ competitions will then face each other in a final to decide a winner and who advances to the continental finals next year.
The girls’ decider will be on Saturday at 10 a.m , with the boys’ at 12 noon.
Online Reporter