Spurs starlets discover U17 AFCONQ opponents

The draw for COSAFA’s 2026 Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers has been conducted ahead of the continental tournament.

In June, four Cape Town Spurs starlets were part of the South Africa under-17 national team camp at the SAFA Technical Centre, which has been deemed a success.

Aqeel Hess, Shaqeel Edries, Noah Hempe and Lincoln Daniels were the four players who represented the Urban Warriors in the camp, and they will now be hoping to be included in the squad for the COSAFA event.

South Africa and their perennial rivals, Zambia, have been drawn together in Group B with the tournament set to be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe, from September 11-20, 2025.

The two Southern African giants will also take on Malawi and Madagascar in Group B, with only the top team in each pool and the best second-placed side advancing to the semi-finals.

In the previous edition, the top three teams advanced to the U17 AFCON finals, which in turn served as the qualifiers for the newly expanded 48-team FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which includes 10 teams from the African continent.

Full Draw

GROUP A: Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Comoros, Eswatini
GROUP B: Zambia, South Africa, Madagascar, Malawi
GROUP C: Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, Lesotho