2024 COSAFA Under-17 Championship
International football competition
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The 2024 COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship (officially known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 — COSAFA Qualifiers) was the 12th edition of the COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship (and the 4th time the tournament served as the qualifiers for the continental final tournament), the international youth football championship organised by COSAFA for the men's under-17 national teams of Southern Africa. Mozambique was initially designated to host the tournament but was stripped of the hosting rights due to ongoing protests following the 2024 Mozambican general election.[1] It was then moved to Johannesburg, South Africa.[2]
| Campeonato COSAFA Sub-17 Masculino 2024 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | South Africa |
| Dates | 5–14 December |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue | 2 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Zambia (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Angola |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Goals scored | 70 (3.33 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Abel Nyirongo (7 goals) |
| Best player | Mapalo Simute |
| Best goalkeeper | Gelson Dala |
| Fair play award | Angola |
← 2022 2025 → | |
Zambia were the defending champions, having defeated South Africa 2–1 in the final of the previous edition,[3] and they successfully retained their title by defeating Angola 2–1 in the final.[4]
Participation
Participating teams
Twelve of the 14 COSAFA member nations have entered the competition, which serves as the regional qualifying tournament for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.[5] Originally there were 2 qualification spots, but a third spot was added after the competition.[6][7][8]
Note: All statistics exclude instances where the team was disqualified during the tournament.
| Team | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | 7th | 2021 (Champions) | Champions (2018, 2021) |
 Botswana | 9th | 2022 (Fourth place) | Third place (2002) |
 Comoros | 2nd | 2019 (Group stage) | Group stage (2019) |
 Eswatini | 8th | 2021 (Fourth place) | Runners-up (2002) |
 Lesotho | 8th | 2021 (Group stage) | Fourth place (2002) |
 Malawi | 11th | 2022 (Third place) | Champions (2001) |
 Mauritius | 6th | 2018 (Fourth place) | Runners-up (2017) |
 Mozambique | 6th | 2022 (Group stage) | Runners-up (1994, 2019) |
 Namibia | 7th | 2022 (Group stage) | Champions (2016) |
 South Africa | 11th | 2022 (Runners-up) | Champions (1994, 2002, 2020) |
| Zambia | 10th | 2022 (Champions) | Champions (2017, 2019, 2022) |
 Zimbabwe | 6th | 2018 (Group stage) | Champions (2007) |
- Did not enter
Draw
The draw was held on 5 September 2024 at 11:00 CET (UTC+2) at Maputo. The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, with hosts Mozambique seeded in Group A (position A1), the defending champions Zambia seeded in Group B (position B1) and South Africa seeded in Group C (position C1). The remaining 9 teams were allocated to two pots based on the results of the previous tournament edition and were drawn to the remaining positions.[9][10]
Squads
Each team was required to register a squad of 20 players for the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2008 eligible to participate.[11]
Venues
On 26 November 2024, it was announced that the tournament had been moved from the original host city, Maputo, Mozambique, to Johannesburg, South Africa, with two venues selected to host all matches.[12]
| Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|
| UJ Soweto Stadium | UJ AW Muller Stadium | |
| Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 1,500 | |
 |
| |
Match officials
The following officials were appointed to oversee the tournament:
- Referees
Nelson da Silva
Joyce Seonyatseng- Moemedi Thabologang
Thembinkosi Dlamini- Nothando Nkhumane
Wilson Muianga
Mweshitsama Naftal- Samuel Nghipandulwa
Noris Arissol
Nonjabulo Ndlela
Chola Chansa
Brighton Chimene
- Assistant Referees
- Dorcus Chenset
- Mooketsi Mankanku
- Celumusa Phiri
Siza Dlangamandla
Lameck Phiri- Nandipha Menze
- Warren Mulenga
- Dominica Melusi
- Video Assistant Referees
- Letticia Viana
- Abongile Tom
- Assistant Video Assistant Referees
Group stage
| Tie-breaking criteria for group play[11] |
|---|
Should two teams finish on the same number of points in the pool phase, they will be separated by:
Should more than two teams finish level on points, the following criteria will be used:
If this procedure does not allow for classification, the criteria listed below will be applied in the indicated order:
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angola |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Mozambique |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Lesotho |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Malawi |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 |
| Mozambique | 1–1 | Malawi |
|---|---|---|
Kille  45+3' |
Report | Chisale 90' |
| Mozambique | 1–0 | Lesotho |
|---|---|---|
| Levonor 90+4' |
Report |
| Mozambique | 0–1 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Jario 63' |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zambia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | +13 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Zimbabwe |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Namibia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 4 | |
| 4 | Eswatini |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 5–1 | Eswatini |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Me. Dlamini 90+3' |
| Namibia | 4–4 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 9 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Botswana |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Comoros |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mauritius |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
| South Africa | 3–0 | Comoros |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| South Africa | 3–2 | Mauritius |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Ranking of second-placed teams
The best second-placed team from all groups qualified for the semi-finals.[11]
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Zimbabwe |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | A | Mozambique |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | C | Botswana |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 4 |
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winner if necessary (no extra time was played).[11]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 11 December – Johannesburg | ||||||
| Angola | 2 | |||||
| 13 December – Johannesburg | ||||||
| Zimbabwe | 0 | |||||
| Angola | 1 | |||||
| 11 December – Johannesburg | ||||||
| Zambia | 2 | |||||
| Zambia | 2 | |||||
| South Africa | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
Winners qualified for 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
| Zambia | 2–1 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
|
Report | Mlondo 1' |
Final
Goalscorers
There were 70 goals scored in 21 matches, for an average of 3.33 goals per match.
7 goals
- Abel Nyirongo
5 goals
- El Shaddai Sadomba
3 goals
- Rethabile Nqoko
- Gabriel Phiri
- Mapalo Simute
- Valentine Macheka
2 goals
- Eliseu
- Kgosi Tshidi
- James Lumbe
- Brayton Paulse
- Neo Bohloko
- Kamohelo Maraletse
- Omphemetse Sekgoto
- Selwyn Stevens
- Tadiwa Chakuchichi
1 goal
- Densel
- Jario
- Dias Luvumbo
- Omar
- Kutlo Mananye
Kaylan Saïd- Aviwe Dlamini
- Menzi Dlamini
- Thuto Khetsi
- Clifford Chisale
- Yusufu Nantunga
Julian Rabaye- Aldo Ravina
- Kille Lino
- Levonor Timbe
- Andriano Gawab
- Stephen Kamulu
- Ronald Kandjou
- Christiano Useb
- Simphiwe Mlondo
- Sive Pama
- Emile Witbooi
- Robert Banda
- Nkotami Chimwemwe
- Jonathan Kalimina
- Nthasilwe Malupande
1 own goal
- Milko Solunga (against Zambia)
- Jonathan Kalimina (against Angola)
Awards
Qualified teams for CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
The following three teams from COSAFA qualified for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.[14]