South Africa clinches both Cosafa Schools titles

South Africa’s teams were crowned champions in both the girls' and boys' divisions at the CAF African Schools Cosafa qualifying football championship yesterday.

The tournament took place from Friday at the Jan Wilken Stadium in Walvis Bay.

In the girls' final, South Africa secured a 3-1 victory against Malawi, while the South African boys defeated Zambia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Zambia struck first in the boys final as Sydney Zulu profited from a goalkeeper error in the first half, but South Africa came from behind to equalise through Luthando Mkhize.

Previously, powerhouse South Africa had won both the boys' and girls' editions of the competition in 2022 and 2023, with the South African girls also crowned African champions in Tanzania in May.

Both the South African boys' and girls' teams, along with the Malawian girls, have advanced to the continental finals set for next year, with the latter qualifying as holders.

Malawi received the Fair Play award in the girls' division, while South Africa took home this award in the boys' division.

The goalkeeper of the tournament for the girls was Mia Heineke, while William Zulu from Zambia earned the accolade in the boys' division.

The Golden Boot awards were handed to Leonay Kock from South Africa (girls) for scoring an impressive 11 goals including two in the final. Okester Kanyeda from Malawi won the Golden Boot award in the boys' division with four goals.

Leonay Kock also received the player of the tournament award, while her male counterpart was Tenani Simfukwe from Zambia.



Namibian worries

Speaking to local media after the tournament, Namibia Football Association president Robert Shimooshilli said although the tournament had been a success, more needs to be done at the grassroots level for Namibian players.

Namibia finished at the bottom of the Group A standings in the boys' division with three points, while the girls ended third with four points in Group A.

“You can see that the youngsters are hungry to show their talents. Regarding the early elimination of Namibia, it could be a sign that we did not really do much to give game time to our youngsters. We call upon all the regional leadership, national leadership, football-related stakeholders, and the government to do more.

“We also urge corporate entities to invest in football development. Football development, particularly from the grassroots, contributes to the senior teams, including the national team. For those reaching retirement age, they need to be replaced.

“For long-term success, you need to start here. The stronger the grassroots, the more it will contribute to the senior teams, and one day, we could even win the African Cup of Nations,” Shimooshilli said.

He added, “We need to pull up our socks to ensure that we give opportunities to our youngsters so we can have good players for the senior national team. Without any investment in these youngsters, it does not really predict a good future as far as football is concerned.”

Shimooshilli mentioned that negotiations are at an advanced stage to host the under-17 or U20 tournaments in Walvis Bay again.

“However, we plan to host it at a sports stadium in Kuisebmond. We are calling on the municipality to ensure that they complete the upgrades to their pavilion. The grass and turf are in good condition.

“The earlier we start, the better. We need to start now so we can have a very successful event.”

“We definitely need to improve and do better – this is a lesson to learn from.”



COSAFA TOURNAMENT STATS:



BOYS

- Matches played: 15

- Goals scored: 39

- Biggest win: Namibia 0-6 Malawi (Group A)

- Most goals in a game: Six – Namibia 0-6 Malawi (Group A)



GIRLS

- Matches played: 15

- Goals scored: 73

- Biggest win: South Africa 13-0 Angola (Group B)

- Most goals in a game: Thirteen – South Africa 13-0 Angola (Group B)