SA U17 men and U20 women national teams in draw for AUSC Region 5 Games

COSAFA have once again been tasked with organising the football tournaments and an official draw was conducted for the men’s Under-17 and women’s Under-20 competitions resulting in some mouth-watering fixtures.

In the men’s draw, hosts Botswana will face Zambia, Eswatini and Namibia in their Group A.

The 2018 COSAFA Under-17 champions Angola are the top seeds in Group B and they will take on Tanzania who is the guest nation in the competition from outside the region.

Malawi and South Africa are the other two competing in what is believed to be the group of death.

In the women’s competition seven countries will be taking part. Hosts Botswana have been pitted in Group A against Zimbabwe, Malawi and Lesotho, while defending champions South Africa will face Namibia and Eswatini in Group B.

The top two teams in each pool will proceed to the semi-finals with winners in the groups facing the runners-up in both the boys and women’s competitions.

Botswana Under-20 women’s team coach Jacqueline Gaobinelwe said the draw went well and she is taking nothing for granted even though they have home advantage and says respect must be given to all of their opponents.

“We missed these Games in 2016 so Botswana is not here to add numbers despite our challenges. We will not have the preparations that we wished for because my players are writing their final examinations in October and November, so this must not be an excuse as we want to win,” Gaebinelwe said.

In the men’s competition, Botswana coach Tebogo Mokute said their group is not an easy one, however he believes his side has the talent to be victorious in all their matches.

He added that in the COSAFA Under-17 Championships held in Mauritius in July, they lost to Namibia in the group stages and also played Eswatini during the preparations and as such they know what to expect from the two teams.

“Our main shortfall was a lack of scoring and we have since added three new players to our squad to resolve that problem,” said Mokute.

The coach added that their target is to do well in the first round and progress to the knockout stages.

“As the hosts we can’t afford to be eliminated early in the tournament and watch from the stands, so we need to work very, very hard,” concluded Mokute.

There will be three stadia being used during the Football events – the 8,000-seater UB Stadium, Jamal grounds and National Stadium.

 

2018 AUSC REGION 5 WOMEN’S UNDER-20 DRAW

Group A
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Malawi
Lesotho

Group B
South Africa
Namibia
Eswatini

 

2018 AUSC REGION 5 MEN’S UNDER-17 DRAW

Group A
Botswana
Zambia
Eswatini
Namibia

Group B
Angola
Tanzania
Malawi
South Africa

 

REGION 5 YOUTH GAMES BOYS COMPETITION, GABORONE-BOTSWANA 2018
No	Match			Group	Date	Kickoff	Venue:
1.	Eswatini	V	Namibia	A	06/12/2018	14h00	UB
2.	Angola		Tanzania	B	06/12/2018	14h00	Jamal
3.	Malawi	V	South Africa	B	06/12/2018	17h00	UB
4.	Botswana	V	Zambia	A	07/12/2018	14h00	UB
	8/12/2018    REST DAY
5.	Zambia	V	Eswatini	A	09/12/2018	14h00	National Stadium
6.	Tanzania	V	Malawi	B	09/12/2018	14h00	UB
7.	South Africa	V	Angola	B	09/12/2018	17h00	UB
8.	Namibia	V	Botswana	B	09/12/2018	17h00	National Stadium
			10/12/2018	REST	DAY
9.	Angola	V	Malawi	B	11/12/2018	14h00	Jamal
10.	Tanzania	V	South Africa	B	11/12/2018	14h00	UB
11.	Zambia	V	Namibia	A	11/12/2018	17h00	Jamal
12.	Eswatini	V	Botswana	A	11/12/2018	17h00	UB
DEPARTURE OF ELIMINATED TEAMS     13/12/2018
SEMI – FINALS
13.	WINNER B	V	RUNNERS-UP A		14/12/2018	14h00	UB
14.	WINNER A	V	RUNNERS-UP B		14/12/2018	17h00	UB
15/12/2018 – REST DAY
3RD/4TH CLASSIFICATION MATCH
15.	LOSER M 13	V	LOSER M 14		16/12/2018	10h00	National Stadium
	FINALS
18.	WIN. M13	V	WIN. M14		16/12/2018	15h00	National Stadium
DEPARTURE OF TEAMS AND OFFICIALS					17/12/2018

 

 

REGION 5 YOUTH GAMES GIRLS COMPETITION, GABORONE-BOTSWANA 2018
No	Match			Group	Date	Kickoff	Venue:
1.	Eswatini	V	Namibia	B	06/12/2018	17h00	Jamal
2.	Botswana	V	Malawi	A	07/12/2018	18h30	National Stadium
3.	Zimbabwe	V	Lesotho	A	08/12/2018	14h30	National Stadium
4.	South Africa	V	Eswatini	B	08/12/2018	17h00	National Stadium
5	Botswana	V	Zimbabwe	A	09/12/2018	14h30	Jamal
6.	Malawi	V	Lesotho	A	10/12/2018	14h30	National Stadium
7.	Namibia	V	South Africa	B	10/12/2018	17h00	National Stadium
8.	Lesotho	V	Botswana	A	11/12/2018	09h30	UB
9.	Malawi	V	Zimbabwe	A	11/12/2018	09h30	Jamal
DEPARTURE OF ELIMINATED TEAMS      12/12/2018
SEMI – FINALS
10.	WINNER GRP B	V	2ND GROUP A		13/12/2018	10h00	UB
11.	WINNER  GRP A	V	2ND GROUP B		13/12/2018	15h00	UB
14/12/2018  REST DAY
3RD/4TH CLASSIFICATION MATCH
12.	LOSER M 10	V	LOSER M 11		15/12/2018	10h00	UB
	FINALS
13.	WIN. M 10	V	WIN. M11		15/12/2018	15h00	UB
DEPARTURE OF TEAMS AND OFFICIALS					17/12/2018

 

 

For further information please contact:

Technical       :           Sue Destombes / Sec Gen COSAFA

+27 82 9000 648

sue@cosafa.com

All other info            :           Lynda Greeff

Media Office

lyndagreeff@mweb.co.za

+27 82 446 5120 / Skype:   lynda.greeff