Crowie happy with Amajimbos’ preparations for Afcon qualifiers

Amajimbos coach Duncan Crowie is happy with the way the preparations are going for the Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations Cosafa qualifiers (Afcon) to be staged in Malawi this month.

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The South African Under-17 men’s team will open their Group B campaign at the tournament against Seychelles on Saturday, before taking on Mozambique two days later. They will wrap-up the group phase with a clash against Zambia on 7 December.

“So far I am happy with the way the preparations have gone. But like I said, I am happy with the preparations and the most important thing is for us as the technical team to make sure that occasion does not get too big for the players,” says Crowie.

“We have to ensure that the players concentrate on the soccer side of things and then I think half the battle will be won. But we will see how it goes. In football you never know what will happen next, but we will make sure we keep the guys grounded, focused and mentally prepared.”

The battle for a spot at the Afcon will also see Namibia, Angola, Botswana and Malawi battle it out for a place at the junior continental competition in the other group.

The top two teams of each group will play in the semi-finals, with the finalists getting a spot at the Afcon which will be hosted in Algeria next year.

Meanwhile, the South African Under-17 women’s team will also be competing in the women’s edition of the tournament, which also takes place in Malawi.

Bantwana will kick-start the competition with a tie against the hosts on Wednesday afternoon, before going on to take Namibia in their last Group A game.