The CAF African Schools Football Championship | COSAFA Qualifier will kick-off in Stellenbosch, South Africa on Friday, when the 10 teams will battle it out for a place at the Continental Finals next year.

The qualifiers are now in their fourth year, with South Africa having been victorious in both the Boys and Girls competitions for the previous three editions. It will be fascinating to see if another power from the region can image to break their dominance. All matches will be streamed LIVE on CAF TV and COSAFA’s YouTube Channel. 

But this competition is about much more than the football, it is a chance for young players across Southern African to connect on and off the pitch and learn valuable life-lessons with the array of workshops and events that take place on the sidelines.

There is training for young coaches, referees, reporters and doctors, safeguarding and medical workshops, training in football analytics and digital skills, presentations fromCAF African Schools Football Championship sponsors such as TotalEnergies and Danone.

All of this is packed into under a week in Stellenbosch, but the football competitions runs from Friday through to the finals in the Boys and Girls competitions on Sunday.

There was a single draw for both competitions, with the 10 teams split into three pools.

Group A has four teams, while Groups B and C have three. The top team in each pool advances to the semi-finals, along with the best second-placed side across the three pools.

In order to make a fair calculation for second place, the results against the team that finishes last in Group A will be disregarded.

South Africa are the top seed in Group A and will take on Namibia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique in their pool.

Zambia headlines the three-team Group B and take on Eswatini and Comoros in their pool, while Malawi are top seeds in Group C and are drawn with Lesotho and Botswana.  

The CAF African Schools Football Championship was launched in 2022 as the brainchild of Confédération Africaine de Football 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, who beat Uganda in the decider.

The 2024 Continental 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 have invested in educational and sporting aids for their learners.

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.

BOYS FIXTURESTimes are CAT (GMT+2)Group Stage05/12, 10:00: South Africa vs Namibia – Group A05/12, 10:00: Zimbabwe vs Mozambique – Group A05/12, 11:00: Zambia vs Eswatini – Group B05/12, 11:00: Malawi vs Lesotho – Group C05/12, 13:30: South Africa vs Mozambique – Group A05/12, 13:30: Namibia vs Zimbabwe – Group A05/12, 14:30: Eswatini vs Comoros – Group B05/12, 14:30: Lesotho vs Botswana – Group C06/12, 09:00: South Africa vs Zimbabwe – Group A06/12, 09:00: Mozambique vs Namibia – Group A06/12, 10:00: Zambia vs Comoros – Group B06/12, 10:00: Malawi vs Botswana – Group C

Groups B & C Third-Place Crossover Play-Off06/12, 13:00: 3rd Place Group B vs 3rd Place Group C

Groups A, B & C Second-Place Crossover Play-Off06/12, 13:00: 2nd Place A/B/C vs 2nd Place A/B/C Semi-finals06/12, 14:00: Winner Group A vs Best 2nd Place06/12, 15:00: Winner Group B vs Winner Group C

Third-Place Play-Off07/12, 10:00: Loser M15 vs Loser M16

Final07/12, 12:00: Winner M15 vs Winner M16

GIRLS FIXTURESGroup Stage05/12, 10:00: South Africa vs Namibia – Group A05/12, 10:00: Zimbabwe vs Mozambique – Group A05/12, 11:00: Zambia vs Eswatini – Group B05/12, 11:00: Malawi vs Lesotho – Group C05/12, 13:30: South Africa vs Mozambique – Group A05/12, 13:30: Namibia vs Zimbabwe – Group A05/12, 14:30: Eswatini vs Comoros – Group B05/12, 14:30: Lesotho vs Botswana – Group C06/12, 09:00: South Africa vs Zimbabwe – Group A06/12, 09:00: Mozambique vs Namibia – Group A06/12, 10:00: Zambia vs Comoros – Group B06/12, 10:00: Malawi vs Botswana – Group C

Groups B & C Third-Place Crossover Play-Off06/12, 13:00: 3rd Place Group B vs 3rd Place Group C

Groups A, B & C Second-Place Crossover Play-Off06/12, 13:00: Best 2nd Place A/B/C vs Best 2nd Place A/B/C

Semi-finals06/12, 14:00: Winner Group A vs Best 2nd Place (Overall)06/12, 15:00: Winner Group B vs Winner Group C

Third-Place Play-Off07/12, 09:00: Loser M15 vs Loser M16

Final07/12, 11:00: Winner M15 vs Winner M16