SA to play host at Cosafa’s Women’s u-17 Championship

Host South Africa will hope to capture the trophy that eluded them last season when they take part in the 2020 Cosafa Women’s u-17 Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay from November 4 to 14.

South Africa were runners-up to powerful East African side Uganda in Mauritius last year in a 2-1 success in the decider, but will have learnt a lot from that experience as they also build towards the final round of African qualifiers for the 2021 Fifa Women’s u-17 World Cup scheduled for India.

They will have a familiar face in charge in the form of coach Simphiwe Dludlu, who also doubles as the national u-20 mentor. It ensures a smooth path for the players between the age groups, and the kind of continuity that is important in the younger age groups.

Former Banyana Banyana international Dludlu has already masterminded the side to the brink of the World Cup, having guided them to the 2018 finals in Uruguay, a squad that included national team stars such as Jessica Wade, Sibulele Holweni and Karabo Dhlamini.

Indeed, South Africa are the most successful of the Cosafa nations in this age group, having twice before qualified for the Fifa Women’s u-17 World Cup, also reaching the finals in 2010. There was much to admire about South Africa along the way though. They claimed an African international record 28-0 scoreline in their opener against Seychelles.

That was followed by pool stage wins over Botswana (5-1) and Madagascar (3-1) as they claimed a 100 per cent record. They edged Zambia 2-1 in a tough semi-final, but finally came unstuck against the Ugandans. They are also still in with a chance of winning a place at the 2021 Fifa Women’s World Cup in India, where they will face Morocco in the final round of qualifying.

After a bye in the first round, they edged Zambia 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the third stage. Zambia won the first leg 2-0 at home, but South Africa roared back to claim the second 3-0. 

Their first shot at the global finals came in 2008 when they lost 3-0 on aggregate to Cameroon in the second round after having a walkover win over Botswana in the first.

They humbled Botswana 22-1 over two legs in the 2010 qualifiers, but then lost 7-1 on aggregate to Nigeria to miss out on an automatic place at the finals. They went into a play-off with Tunisia though and after a 1-0 away win and 1-1 draw, booked a place in Trinidad and Tobago.

There, they found the going tough with defeats to South Korea (3-1), Germany (10-1) and Mexico (4-0), but a number of that squad, including Robyn Moodaly, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Kaylin Swart have gone on to have successful careers.

South Africa beat Namibia 6-1 on aggregate in the qualifiers for 2012, but a 5-1 aggregate loss to Ghana in the next stage meant there would be no finals for them. A year later they were surprisingly defeated by Zambia in the second round after a 3-3 away draw was followed by a 3-1 home loss.

In 2015 they received a walkover win over Zambia, but in the final stage of qualifying lost 7-0 on aggregate to Nigeria. They were back at the global finals in 2018 though as a 11-6 aggregate win over Botswana was followed by a 6-1 aggregate success over Morocco.

They played at the Fifa event in Uruguay, where they again showed improved performance, but could not get out of their pool.

A 0-0 draw with Mexico was followed by a 6-0 loss to Japan and a 4-1 defeat to Brazil.