South Africa, Zambia to clash in Boys and Girls finals of COSAFA Schools Qualifier

Hosts South Africa and Zambia will meet in the finals of both the Boys and Girls competitions at the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier at the Idas Valley Sports Complex in Stellenbosch on Sunday.

Both came through tough semi-final contests and will compete for a place as COSAFA’s representatives in the Continental Finals next year.

Sunday’s third-place play-offs and final matches in both competitions will be live on CAF TV.

South Africa sealed their place in the Boys final with a 2-0 win over Eswatini in their semi-final clash, the fourth year in a row they have reached the decider. The South Africans have lifted the trophy in the previous three years, but Zambia will be looking to break their dominance.

Zambia defeated Malawi 3-0 in their semi-final to set up their clash with South Africa, which will be played at 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT).

South Africa claimed top spot in Group A in the Boys competition with a vital 2-0 win over Zimbabwe, leapfrogging the latter to seal semi-final qualification.

Zambia’s 6-0 win over Comoros ensured they were winners of Group B, while Malawi’s 1-0 win over Botswana booked their spot too from Group C.

Eswatini finished as the best runner-up by virtue of goals scored. When taking away the 2-0 win against Namibia in the four-team Group A, runners-up Zimbabwe had three points and a -1 goal difference.

Both Eswatini and Botswana, who finished second in their pools, had three points and a 0 goal difference, but Eswatini scored four goals in their two games and Botswana only one, which took the former through to the semi-finals.

Defending champions South Africa needed penalties to see off Zimbabwe in their Girls semi-final after the match had finished 1-1. They triumphed 4-3 on spot-kicks after Zimbabwe failed to convert twice.

Like the Boys, South Africa have lifted the Girls trophy for the last three years and are on course for a quadruple triumph, but will face a stern test against a lively Zambia side.

Zambia were made to work hard but claimed a 2-0 win over Malawi in the Girls semi-final. Their final with South Africa will be played at 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT).

South Africa sealed their place in the semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Zimbabwe in their final pool game, but the latter qualified for the last four as the best runner-up. They then met again in the semis, and it was closer the second time round.

Zambia defeated Comoros 11-0 in their final Group B game for the biggest win of the tournament to date, while Malawi beat Botswana 2-0 to top Group C.

The winners of the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier this year will receive USD 100,000, with the runners-up taking home USD 75,000, and the bronze medallists getting USD 50,000.

The CAF African Schools Football Championship has been spearheaded by CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe, with the Motsepe Foundation providing a USD 10-million investment into the competition.

The current holders of the continental title in the Boys competition are Tanzania, while the Girls champions are Ghana.
The 2025 finals were played in Accra, Ghana, and the winners each walked away with USD 300,000 in prize money. The runners-up received USD 200,000, while the bronze medallists took home USD 150,000.

This prize money is to be used for infrastructure development at schools, and many teams have invested in educational and sporting aids for their learners.

BOYS FIXTURES/RESULTS
Times are CAT (GMT+2)
Group Stage
South Africa 1-0 Namibia – Group A
Zimbabwe 2-1 Mozambique – Group A
Zambia 4-1 Eswatini – Group B
Malawi 2-1 Lesotho – Group C
South Africa 1-1 Mozambique – Group A
Namibia 0-2 Zimbabwe – Group A
Eswatini 3-0 Comoros – Group B
Lesotho 0-1 Botswana – Group C
South Africa 2-0 Zimbabwe – Group A
Mozambique 0-0 Namibia – Group A
Zambia 6-0 Comoros – Group B
Malawi 1-0 Botswana – Group C

Groups B & C Third-Place Crossover Play-Off
Comoros 2-1 Lesotho

Groups B & C Second-Place Crossover Play-Off
Zimbabwe 1-0 Botswana 

Semi-finals
South Africa 2-0 Eswatini
Zambia 3-0 Malawi 

Third-Place Play-Of
07/12, 10:00: Eswatini vs Malawi

Final
07/12, 12:00: South Africa vs Zambia


BOYS STANDINGS

GROUP A	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
South Africa (Q)	3	2	1	0	4	1	3	7
Zimbabwe	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
Mozambique	3	0	2	1	2	3	-1	2
Namibia	3	0	1	2	0	3	-3	1

* After removing their result against Namibia, Zimbabwe had 3 points and a -1 goal-difference in the calculation for best second-placed team.

GROUP B	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Zambia (Q)	2	2	0	0	10	1	9	6
Eswatini (Q)	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	3
Comoros	2	0	0	2	0	9	-9	0

 

GROUP C	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Malawi (Q)	2	2	0	0	3	1	2	6
Botswana	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	3
Lesotho	2	0	0	2	1	3	-2	0

 

BOYS TOURNAMENT STATISTICS
Matches played: 16
Goals scored: 38
Biggest win: Zambia 6-0 Comoros (December 6, Group B)
Most goals in a game: 6 – Zambia 6-0 Comoros (December 6, Group B)

 

GIRLS FIXTURES/RESULTS
Group Stage
South Africa 4-1 Namibia – Group A
Zimbabwe 6-1 Mozambique – Group A
Zambia 6-0 Eswatini – Group B
Malawi 5-0 Lesotho – Group C
South Africa 4-0 Mozambique – Group A
Namibia 0-3 Zimbabwe – Group A
Eswatini 6-0 Comoros – Group B
Lesotho 2-1 Botswana – Group C
South Africa 3-1 Zimbabwe – Group A
Mozambique 1-0 Namibia – Group A
Zambia 11-0 Comoros – Group B
Malawi 2-0 Botswana – Group C

Groups B & C Third-Place Crossover Play-Off
Comoros 0-5 Botswana

Groups B & C Second-Place Crossover Play-Off
Eswatini 0-2 Lesotho

Semi-finals
South Africa (4)1-1(3) ZimbabweZambia 2-0 Malawi

Third-Place Play-Off
07/12, 09:00: Zimbabwe vs Malawi

Final
07/12, 11:00: South Africa vs Zambia

 

GIRLS STANDINGS

GROUP A	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
South Africa (Q)	3	3	0	0	11	2	9	9
Zimbabwe (Q)	3	2	0	1	10	4	6	6
Mozambique	3	1	0	2	2	10	-8	3
Namibia	3	0	0	3	1	8	-7	0

* After removing their result against Namibia, Zimbabwe had 3 points and a +3 goal-difference in the calculation for best second-placed team.

GROUP B	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Zambia (Q)	2	2	0	0	17	0	17	6
Eswatini	2	1	0	1	6	6	0	3
Comoros	2	0	0	2	0	17	-17	0

 

GROUP C	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
Malawi (Q)	2	2	0	0	7	0	7	6
Lesotho	2	1	0	1	2	6	-4	3
Botswana	2	0	0	2	1	4	-3	0

 

GIRLS TOURNAMENT STATISTICS
Matches played: 16
Goals scored: 68
Biggest win: Zambia 11-0 Comoros (December 6, Group B)
Most goals in a game: 11 – Zambia 11-0 Comoros (December 6, Group B)