South Africa will seek to keep up their 100% record at the CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifiers when they host the latest tournament in Stellenbosch from December 5-7.
South Africa have won both the Boys and Girls competitions at the past three qualifiers played in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and will likely be the team to beat again this year.
They were represented in the Boys by Clapham High School in 2022, which had several Under-15 players from the Mamelodi Sundowns club in their team.
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Clapham played home side Salima Secondary School in the final and won 1-0 to lift the trophy, The pair had played to a 1-1 draw in the group stages of the inaugural event but the South Africans came out on top second time round.
They would go on to compete in the continental finals and this time Clapham had to settle for silver on home soil in Durban as they were beaten by CS Ben Sekou Sylla from Guinea in the decider.
Edendale Technical School were South Africa's representatives in the Girls competition in Malawi and they too came out on top. That tournament was played in a round-robin format and the side topped the pool with a full haul of 12 points from their four games.
The format changed in 2023 with teams made up of players from different schools able to represent their country at the zonal qualifiers in Harare.
The South African Boys side was made up mostly of players from the Ubuntu Academy in Cape Town, and the Girls with players from Edendale again.
South Africa took on Malawi again in the final and following a hard-fought 1-1 draw, claimed the penalty shoot-out 3-0 to take the title once more.
In the Girls competition they came up against Botswana in the decider and having dominated through the pool stages it was no surprise when they won 3-1.
That Girls team would go on to be champions of Africa as they claimed the continental title, bring pride to the COSAFA region.
The 2024 event again saw a South African double. The Boys played Zambia in the final, which again ended 1-1. And once more, it was the South Africans who came out on top with a 4-2 win on penalties.
The Girls met Malawi in their final and claimed a 3-1 success, though both teams advanced to the continental finals as South Africa had booked their place as defending champions.
It means South Africa are yet to lose a match in either the Boy' or Girls' competitions in the first three years of the COSAFA Qualifiers.
There will be confidence they can repeat those feats this year, but also the competition is getting stronger and there will be plenty of teams looking to knock them off their perch. The draw for the eight-team tournament will be made in Walvis Bay ahead of the competition.
The draw for this year's 11-team tournament will be made a few days before the competition.
SOUTH AFRICA'S PAST FINISHESBOYS2022: Winners2023: Winners2024: Winners
GIRLS2022: Winners2023: Winners2024: Winners
SOUTH AFRICA'S PAST RESULTSBOYS2022Clapham High 3-0 Ile Perseverance
Clapham High 1-1 Salima Secondary
Rosinha 0-6 Clapham High
Salima Secondary 0-1 Clapham High
2023South Africa 7-0 Angola
South Africa 3-0 Zambia*
South Africa 2-1 Namibia
South Africa 0-0 Madagascar
Malawi 1-1 South Africa - SA won 3-0 on penalties*Zambia were not present, score awarded 3-0 to their opponents.
2024South Africa 1-0 Zimbabwe
South Africa 3-0 Angola
South Africa 4-0 Eswatini
South Africa 2-1 Malawi
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Zambia 1-1 South Africa - SA won 4-2 on penalties
GIRLS2022Malindi Secondary 0-3 Edendale Technical*
Anse Boileau 0-3 Edendale Technical
Edendale Technical 7-1 GS Ningha
Edendale Technical 4-0 Mothamo JSS*Awarded 3-0 to Edendale Technical due to administrative error
2023South Africa 14-0 Angola
South Africa 3-0 Zambia*
South Africa 3-0 Namibia
South Africa 8-0 Madagascar
South Africa 3-1 Botswana
*Zambia were not present, score awarded 3-0 to their opponents.
2024South Africa 7-0 Zimbabwe
South Africa 13-0 Angola
South Africa 4-0 Eswatini
South Africa 10-0 Lesotho
South Africa 3-1 Malawi
