ZIMBABWE'S Under-20 national football team is set to return to international action later this month when they participate in the COSAFA Under-20 Championship.

The tournament will be staged in Mozambique from September 26-October 5, with the 12 competing teams eyeing a place at the Total Energies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations next year.

Only the top two nations from the COSAFA region will be advancing to the continental finals.

The Young Warriors will know their fate when the draw for the regional finals takes place in Maputo on Thursday.

At the same time the draws for the COSAFA Men's Under-17 Championship and COSAFA Women's Under-17 Championship, which will also be hosted in Maputo from December 5-15, will be conducted.

Organisers yesterday said the teams in the Under-20 draw will be split into three groups each containing four sides, with the top side in each pool and the best placed runner-up advancing to the semi-finals.

The winners of those semis will not only have a shot at the title but also earn their place at the continental event.

Zimbabwe will be joined in the draw by Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zambia, with only Mauritius and Seychelles not competing this time round.

The group games will take place from September 26 to October 1, with the semi-finals to be played two days later. The final will be on October 5, with no third-place play-off.

Holders Zambia are record 12-time winners of the regional finals, with South Africa claiming eight victories, though none since 2018. Zimbabwe have been champions six times, and Madagascar and Mozambique once each.

"But more than lifting the trophy, the COSAFA tournament is about developing the talent of tomorrow and giving young players the chance to compete with their peers in a highly competitive environment that should help to prepare them for the challenges of senior international football," said COSAFA in a statement.