Harare gears up for CAF African Schools Football C...

Harare gears up for CAF African Schools Football Championships

Zim Now Writer

The stage is now set for the CAF African Schools Football Championships set for Harare starting this Thursday, with teams having been drawn into two groups of five.

Ten regional teams will compete for honours at Gateway High school in the under-15 tournament, which runs from the 14th to the 16th of this month.

Zimbabwe were drawn in Group A alongside regional rivals Malawi, Botswana, Mozambique and Eswatini.

Current champions, South Africa are in Group B together with Namibia, Angola, Zambia and Madagascar.

The tournament aims to provide a platform for young players to showcase their talent and represent their countries at the highest level.

The 10 Cosafa members will field both boys and girls’ teams as the boys' competition will be played on full-sized pitches with 11 a-side, while their female counterparts play on half-sized pitches in 8 a-side contest.

The Zimbabwe team will be in for a tough test as the second edition will be their debut appearance and at the same time being the first time to host a CAF tournament since their return to international football.

The hosts will be hoping to use home advantage to secure a place in the knockout stage.

With the CAF African Schools Football Championships providing a vital platform for young players to gain experience at an international level as their hope to become the next stars like Peter Ndlovu, George Weah, Samuel Eto’o and Jay-Jay Okocha who got their first taste of international football at junior tournaments.