SA u15s in training for u17 girls’ Cosafa Championship

The South African Football Association (Safa) is hosting the u15 girls’ national team at the Safa  Technical Centre in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday.

This team is set to participate in the u17 girls’ Cosafa Championship in December and the squad will feature players that were identified through the u15 National tournament in August and the TDS International Tournament, which was held in September.

Safa’s Technical Director, Walter Steenbok explained the thinking behind entering a young team in the tournament: “We are lowering the age groups to ensure that we prepare squads that grow together before reaching the age of 17, where international qualifiers begin.

“Over the years, we have had an issue in the qualification of the u17 international tournaments, and this training camp will be the beginning of that squad in the same way we have used the Talent Development Scheme (TDS) for our boys’ team. We intend on doing the same for our girls’ team and fast-tracking their development to build a squad that will compete at international u17 level,” he said.

As the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries prepare for the forthcoming  u17 girls’ Cosafa Championship, which will be hosted by Mozambique, Safa is aiming to put together a robust and competent squad capable of going toe-to-toe with their older opponents.

It will be a tough challenge, but the young South African team will be aiming to emulate the success of the u20 boys’ national team, Amajita, who won the u20 Cosafa Championship title in October after defeating Zambia in the final.

Recently, both the u15 boys’ and girls’ South African teams won the Cosafa African Schools Football Championship in Namibia, making it a three-peat for South Africa in the competition, and keeping intact the country’s record as the only winner of the event since its inception.

This year, South Africa has enjoyed a successful run in several Cosafa tournaments, including Banyana Banyana, who, under the guidance of coach Maud Khumalo, reached the finals but lost 3-4 to Zambia in a penalty shootout on 2 November in Gqeberha. There was plenty of cause for optimism, however, as Banyana Banyana put out a youthful squad that included several teenagers, who rose to the challenge.

After the competition, Khumalo told the SAFA media team: “It was a great, great experience in Gqeberha. Tournaments like these bring value. They enable coaches and players to gain more experience and to get used to the different levels of the game. The teams and the countries we played against, you could see that they are building, and they’re learning a lot.”

The u15 national side will view the success of the young Banyana Banyana side as inspiration and give them motivation to excel during the 2024 u17 Cosafa Championship.

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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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