Draw for 2025 COSAFA U17 Girls’ Championship produces tough pools
The draw for the 2025 COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship to be staged in Windhoek, Namibia from May 10-17 was held on Thursday ahead of the first regional competition of the year.
It is the first time the tournament will be hosted in Namibia, which is also set to stage the Region 5 Games in July.
Namibia headline Group A and will take on Malawi and Comoros in the pool.
Namibia debuted in the 2021 COSAFA U17 Girls Championship and returned in 2022 and 2024. They have gone out in the group stages on all three occasions.
Malawi debuted at the 2022 COSAFA U17 Girls Championship where they finished third on home soil in Lilongwe. They exited in the group stages last year.
Comoros are appearing at a fifth COSAFA U17 Girls Championship and are waiting for their first win at the tournament.
Group B contains defending champions Zambia, Mozambique and Mauritius.
Zambia defeated Lesotho 15-0 in the final last year and are the only team to lift the trophy twice, having also done so in 2021.
Mozambique made their debut in the 2024 COSAFA U17 Girls Championship. They lost in the semifinals in Lesotho after winning all three of their group games.
Mauritius hosted the first COSAFA U17 Girls Championship in 2019, where they exited in the group stages. They made their second appearance in 2024.
Group C contains Lesotho, who lost in last year’s final while making their debut, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Botswana were runners-up in 2021 after losing to Zambia in the final. They also finished fourth in 2019 and 2022.
Zimbabwe’s best finish was fourth place on debut in 2020. They also appeared last year but exited in the group stages.
2025 COSAFA U17 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW
GROUP A
Namibia
Malawi
Comoros
GROUP B
Zambia
Mozambique
Mauritius
GROUP C
Lesotho
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Source: Cosafa.com
