After finishing fourth in last year’s competition in Harare, Namibia will be hoping to capitalise on home advantage as they chase the title at this year’s 2024 CAF African Schools Football Championship Cosafa qualifiers, starting this morning. 

The tournament kicks off at the Jan Wilken Stadium in Walvis Bay, where various schools from the Southern African Development Community region will be vying for the top prize. South Africa are the reigning champions in both the boys’ and girls’ categories.

Last year, both Namibia’s boys and girls teams finished fourth in their respective competitions. In the boys’ category, Namibia triumphed 2-1 against Zambia before beating Madagascar 2-0. They then edged out Angola 1-0, setting up a fourth-place play-off against Zimbabwe, where they narrowly lost 1-0. The girls team also started their campaign last year with a win against Zambia, but they later fell 4-0 to a strong Mozambique side.

This year, the Namibian boys will kick off their campaign with a match against Malawi, starting at 09h00 this morning, followed by a second encounter at 13h30. Their final group match is set for tomorrow at 10h00. The girls’ team will follow the same fixture schedule. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the semifinals, with only the champion earning a spot at the prestigious continental showpiece. 

A notable change in this year’s tournament is the girls’ competition, which will now be 11-a-side, played on a full-size pitch, unlike previous editions where it was 8-a-side on a half-size pitch.

This marks a significant step up from the inaugural event, held in Malawi in October 2022. That competition featured five girls’ teams, with South Africa’s Edendale Technical claiming victory. The boys’ tournament had six teams, and South Africa’s Clapham High School emerged champions.

At this year’s continental finals in Zanzibar, held in May, the winners of both the boys’ and girls’ competitions each received US$300 000 (N$5 272 452) in prize money, which is designated for development projects within the winning schools. The runners-up were awarded US$200 000 (N$3 514 968), while the third-place finishers took home US$150 000 (N$2 636 226).

Speaking on the importance of the tournament, CAF president Patrice Motsepe shared with Cosafa.com that it represents a significant investment in talent development. 

“Schools football is at the heart of the long-term development and growth of African football. 

One of the best investments we can make to ensure African football is among the best in the world is to invest in schools’ football and football infrastructure at school, amateur and professional levels, for both boys and girls,” Motsepe said. Additional reporting from Cosafa

-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na