The 2024 COSAFA U-20 Cup was the 29th edition of the COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup, an international youth football tournament open to national associations of the COSAFA region. It took place between 26 September and 5 October 2024 in Mozambique. This competition served as the COSAFA qualifiers for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

2024 COSAFA Under-20 Cup
Tournament details
Host countryMozambique
CityMatola
Dates26 September–5 October
Teams12 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)Associação Black Bulls (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions South Africa
(9th title)
Runners-up Zambia
Tournament statistics
Matches played18
Goals scored55 (3.06 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Africa Lee Jody Ahshene
(4 goals)
Best player(s)South Africa Shandre Campbell
Best goalkeeperSouth Africa Fletcher Smythe-Lowe
Fair play award Zambia
2022
2026

South Africa defeated defending champions Zambia 2-0 in the final. Both finalists qualified for the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.[1][2] South Africa scored 16 goals in the five matches played, with zero goals conceded against them.

Participating teams

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The following twelve teams contested the tournament.

Team Appearances Previous best performance
  Angola 29th Runner-up
(2000, 2001, 2002, 2011)
  Botswana 22nd 3rd Place
(2009, 2011)
  Comoros 5th Group stage
(2013, 2016, 2019, 2020)
  Eswatini 29th Champion
(2020)
  Lesotho 29th Runner-up
(1990, 2005, 2017)
  Malawi 20th 4th Place (1986, 2000, 2006, 2011)
  Mozambique 29th Champion
(2020)
  Namibia 29th Champion
(2020)
  South Africa 29th Champion
(2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2018)
  Zambia 29th Champion
(1983, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019, 2022)

Venues

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Match officials

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Draw

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The draw was held on 5 September 2024 at 11:00 CET (UTC+2) at Maputo.The 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, with hosts Mozambique seeded in Group A (position A1), the defending champions Zambia seeded in Group B (position B1) and South Africa seeded in Group C (position C1). The remaining 9 teams were allocated to two pots based on the results of the previous tournament edition and were drawn to the remaining positions.[3]

Seeded Pot 1 Pot 2

Group stage

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The group stage were played in 3 groups as a round-robin, where the winners and the best runner-up advanced to the semi-finals. Because of Madagascar's withdrawal, points gained against the team finishing last in Groups A and C were not included in the calculation of the best runner-up.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Zimbabwe 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Semi-finals
2   Botswana 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
3   Eswatini 3 1 1 1 5 7 −2 4
4   Mozambique (H) 3 0 0 3 5 8 −3 0
Source: COSAFA
(H) Hosts
Zimbabwe  1–1  Botswana
  • Moyo   30'
Report
Mozambique  4–5  Eswatini
Report

Eswatini  0–3  Zimbabwe
Report
Mozambique  1–2  Botswana
Report

Eswatini  0–0  Botswana
Report
Mozambique  0–1  Zimbabwe
Report

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Angola 2 2 0 0 4 1 +3 6 Semi-finals
2   Zambia 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1 3
3   Namibia 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
Source: COSAFA

  Madagascar was also drawn into this group but withdrew before playing.[4]

Zambia  1–3  Angola
Report

Angola  1–0  Namibia
Report

Zambia  2–1  Namibia
Report

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   South Africa 3 3 0 0 13 0 +13 9 Semi-finals
2   Comoros 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
3   Malawi 3 1 0 2 4 9 −5 3
4   Lesotho 3 1 0 2 3 9 −6 3
Source: COSAFA
Comoros  1–0  Lesotho
Report
South Africa  5–0  Malawi
Report

Malawi  2–1  Comoros
Report
South Africa  6–0  Lesotho
Report

Malawi  2–3  Lesotho
Report
Comoros  0–2  South Africa
Report

Ranking of second-placed teams

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Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B   Zambia 2 1 0 1 3 4 −1 3 Semi-finals
2 A   Botswana 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
3 C   Comoros 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
Source: COSAFA
Rules for classification: Group tiebreakers

Knockout stage

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Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
3 October - Matola
 
 
  Angola0
 
5 October - Matola
 
  South Africa1
 
  South Africa2
 
3 October - Matola
 
  Zambia0
 
  Zimbabwe 2 (5)
 
 
  Zambia(p)2 (6)
 

Semi-finals

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Angola  0-1  South Africa

Zimbabwe  2-2  Zambia
Penalties
5-6

Final

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  South Africa2-0  Zambia

Goalscorers

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There were 55 goals scored in 18 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Shandre Campbell shines as Afcon-bound South Africa are crowned Cosafa Under-20 champions | Goal.com South Africa". www.goal.com. 2024-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  2. ^ "EN, FR, PR: South Africa claim ninth COSAFA Under-20 crown". 2024-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  3. ^ "Draws concluded in Maputo for Under-20 and Under-17 competitions". Council of Southern Africa Football Associations. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Race for African place gets under way in COSAFA U20 Qualifier". Council of Southern Africa Football Associations. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.