Tafadzwa Chigandiwa
The Zimbabwe Men’s U-17 national team will be on a mission to end an 18-year COSAFA Championship title drought when the country hosts the prestigious regional tournament from September 11–20 in Norton and Harare.
Ngoni Stadium in Norton and Heart Stadium in Harare were selected as the venues for this year’s edition.
Zimbabwe last lifted the COSAFA U-17 trophy in 2007, defeating South Africa on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the final.
That year, they had topped their group after beating Angola (2-1), Eswatini (3-1) and drawing with Namibia (1-1), finishing the group stage with seven points.
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They went on to eliminate Zambia in the semifinals, also via a penalty shootout (5-4) after another 1-1 draw.
In recent years, the best the Young Warriors have managed is a semifinal appearance in 2024.
According to COSAFA statistics, Zimbabwe did not participate in the tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 and were disqualified in 2020 due to alleged age-cheating violations.
As anticipation builds for this year’s tournament, team captain Tadiwa Chakuchichi has called on the nation to show their support:
“We’ll try our best to deliver and win the tournament,” he said.
“I’m pleading with the nation to come and rally behind us, because the 12th man is very key in football.”
Winners of the COSAFA U-17 Championship will earn qualification to the 2026 TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
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