13 March 2020 – Eswatini and Malawi will kick-off the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship when they clash in the opening game at the St. François Xavier Stadium at 12h30 on April 17.
The fixture will be followed by another match in Group A as hosts Mauritius tackle Botswana (kick-off 15h30) at the same venue, an exciting opening day to the second staging of the regional showpiece event in this age-group.
The fixtures have been determined following the draw on Wednesday, with Group B set to get under way on April 18 with two more fascinating clashes.
Zambia take on Comoros Islands in their first game at 12h30, while later on South Africa clash with Zimbabwe at 15h30.
With just the top two teams advancing to the semifinals, this is a tight pool and much could be decided when South Africa tackle Zambia on April 20.
The final matches in Group A will take place on April 21, with games being played simultaneously, as will be the case in Group B the following day.
The semi-final will be staged on April 24, with the winner of Group B tackling the runner-up in Group A first, while the third-place play-off is on April 26 at 11h00.
The final will be staged later in the day at 15h00, with all knockout fixtures to be at the St. François Xavier Stadium.
Uganda were the inaugural winners of the COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship in 2019, defeating South Africa 2-1 in the final.
COSAFA returns to the islands for a fifth year in a row, after the Mauritius Football Association also staged the Men’s Under-17 Championship between 2016 and 2018.
The COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship is the first of six tournaments, three each in the men’s and women’s category, that are scheduled to be staged in 2020.