SA does the double, three-peats at CAF African Schools Football Champs

The South African boys’ and girls’ u15 teams were both crowned the champions of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) African Schools Football Championship (ASFC) | Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) qualifiers in Walvis Bay, Namibia on Sunday.

After winning the titles in 2022 and 2023, it was a milestone third championship title for the South Africans in succession.

The South African boys’ team was pushed to its limits by a very determined Zambia in the final. The Zambians had arrived late for the tournament and missed their opening game against Lesotho, but they made a remarkable comeback by winning their other pool matches to secure a place against South Africa in the title decider.

In a must-win match on Saturday, Zambia produced a superb performance to beat Malawi 3-0. Then, in the semi-finals, on Sunday, they continued their winning ways with a 1-0 win over Eswatini.

In the gold medal clash against South Africa, the Zambians struck first, but South Africa levelled to send the contest to a penalty shootout. There, the South Africans clinched the title by a 4-2 margin from the spot. With the win, they also qualified for the continental finals of the Caf African Schools Football Championship (ASFC).

There was further success for South Africa in the girls’ final, with the Rainbow Nation claiming a 3-1 win over Malawi. That victory maintained a 100 percent record in the competition for both the South African boys’ and girls’ teams over the past three years. Earlier this year, the South African girls’ team was also crowned the continental champion of the Caf African Schools Football Championship in Zanzibar.

At next year’s Caf African Schools Football Championship, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region will be represented by South Africa’s boys’ and girls’ teams and the Malawian girls’ side.

South Africa’s Leonay Kock was prolific in front of goal, scoring 11 times in only five matches, which earned her the Player of the Tournament Award. Her tally included a brace in the final.

Another South African, Mia Heneke, won the Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper, while the Malawi girls’ team took home the Fair Play Award.

The South African boys’ team won the Fair Play Award, while Zambia’s Tenani Simfukwe was named the Player of the Tournament, and Malawi’s Okester Kanyenda claimed the Golden Boot after scoring four goals. William Zulu, of Zambia, received the Golden Glove.

Dr Danny Jordaan, the President of the South African Football Association (Safa), who is in Congo-Brazzaville with Bafana Bafana, ahead of South Africa’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday, said the continued success of the two u15 teams is central to the future of the country’s women’s and men’s football.

“It was pleasing, and it was a wonderful outcome of the schools’ competition,” Jordaan enthused. “Schools remain the basic basis of all of our teams. We start there, in the schools.

“After Caf, together with [its] President Dr Patrice Motsepe, launched the Caf African Schools’ competition, South Africa went on to win annual tournaments. We are now, again, the defending champions as we go to this competition.

“In Zanzibar, we defeated Morocco in the final and our boys lost in the semifinals, but they qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations.

“Now, both teams are again Cosafa champions and have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for schools. It is a wonderful achievement for the country, and it is confirmation that, when we started Revision 2020, we had to consolidate schools.

“The problem in the past was that we did not have a unified school structure because you have the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, the Department of Basic Education, and then Safa.

Fortunately, that has now been resolved and the three parties are working well together, and we have an agreement. The result of that is the success from Namibia where the girls’ team cleaned every single team. The boys also won every match.”

Jordaan said plans are underway to ensure that the junior national teams remain active, playing international opposition regularly, and working with a greater proximity to Bafana Bafana.

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Siya Pongco

A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.

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