The draw for the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2027 | COSAFA Qualifier will be held on Wednesday, 12 August and streamed live on COSAFA's YouTube Channel from 13h00 CAT (11h00 GMT) as the 12 competing nations discover their path through the tournament.
The regional championship will be staged in Mauritius from September 18-27, with Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, hosts Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia all in the field.
There will be much more than regional bragging rights at stake, with the tournament providing a pathway to the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2027, which is set to be staged in February and March next year.
The 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four, with hosts Mauritius automatically placed at the head of Group A, defending regional champions South Africa in Group B and record title-holders Zambia in Group C.
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The seedings are based on performances in the last three regional competitions.
Angola, Malawi and Mozambique make up the first draw pot as the next three highest-ranked sides, while Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini are in Pot 2. Comoros, Lesotho and Seychelles complete Pot 3.
Teams will be drawn successively into Groups A, B and C, with a second draw determining their specific position within each pool. Mauritius are fixed in position A1, South Africa in B1 and Zambia in C1.
The COSAFA Under-20 competition has a rich history stretching back more than four decades and has provided a platform for many players who have gone on to become leading senior internationals.
Zambia were the inaugural champions in 1983 and remain the most successful nation in the history of the regional competition with 12 titles. The early years were dominated by Zambia and Zimbabwe, who shared the first nine championships between them, with Zambia taking six and Zimbabwe three.
South Africa eventually broke that stranglehold when they claimed their maiden crown in 2000 and have since become Zambia's closest challengers on the all-time list.
Amajita won their ninth title when they defeated Zambia 2-0 in the 2024 final in Mozambique and retained the regional crown at the Region 5 Games in Namibia in 2025, beating Malawi 3-0 in the decider. That took South Africa to 10 regional Under-20 titles.
Zimbabwe are third on the all-time list with six championships, while Madagascar and Mozambique are the only other nations to have lifted the trophy, with one victory each. Madagascar's triumph came in 2005, while Mozambique claimed their maiden crown in 2020. Only five nations have therefore ever been crowned regional Under-20 champions.
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South Africa will arrive in Mauritius as not only the defending regional champions but also the reigning African champions after they won the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in 2025, defeating Morocco in the final.
Their success underlines the importance of the COSAFA qualifier as a pathway to the continental stage. At the previous regional qualifier in Mozambique in 2024, South Africa and Zambia reached the final and in doing so secured the two COSAFA places at the continental championship.
Ghana will host the 2027 continental finals for the second time, having previously staged the competition in 1999, when they were crowned champions on home soil.
