The Zambia U-20 national team will be aiming to increase their COSAFA U-20 Championship title count to 12 next month when the annual tournament kicks off.
The 2021 COSAFA Men’s Under-20 Championship will be staged in Eswatini from December 10-18 and will feature nine sides from across the region in a fantastic festival of football to close the year.
The Young Bullets have confirmed participation in the tournament alongside Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles, and South Africa.
Oswald Mutapa who guided both the Zambia Under-17 and 20 to regional titles in 2019 is expected to head the technical bench and will announce his squad in the next few days.
Mutapa is expected to summon Athletico Lusaka’s Richard Ngoma, Francis Mutalange, Charles Majapa, Kings Mutangwa, Joseph Sabobo Banda,Julius Kumwenda, and Teddy Khumalo. The Bulk of the team will come from Athletico Lusaka
Others will be Chipyoka Songa from Lusaka Dynamos, Muza’s Rickson N’gambia and Moses Mulenga from Zesco United, Joshua ‘Budo’ Mutale from Power Dynamos, Jimmy Mukeya from Napsa Stars and Peter Chikola from Kafue Celtic.
Shamuel duo Miguel Changa Chaiwa and Kanda together with Stephen Phiri and Tobias Chungu from Lusaka Youth Soccer Academy and Vector are expected in the squad respectively.
Zambia last won the tournament title on home soil in 2019, defeating old enemy South Africa 3-0 in the decider to complete an excellent tournament.
The nine teams will be placed into three pools of three teams each, with that draw set to take place on Monday in Lesotho, where COSAFA is preparing to help stage the Region 5 Games Maseru 2020.
The winners of the three pools and the best placed runner-up will advance to the semifinals.
Matches will be played at the Mavuso Stadium in Manzini and the Kalanga Stadium, which has an artificial turf.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1983 Zambia
1985 Zimbabwe
1986 Zambia
1988 Zimbabwe
1990 Zimbabwe
1993 Zambia
1995 Zambia
1997 Zambia
1999 Zambia
2000 South Africa
2001 Zimbabwe
2002 Zimbabwe
2003 Zambia
2004 South Africa
2005 Madagascar
2006 South Africa
2007 Zimbabwe
2008 South Africa
2009 South Africa
2010 Zambia
2011 Zambia
2013 South Africa
2016 Zambia
2017 South Africa
2018 South Africa
2019 Zambia
2020 Mozambique
MOST WINS
11 – Zambia
8 – South Africa
6 – Zimbabwe
1 – Madagascar, Mozambique
