The COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship, also known as the COSAFA U-17 Men's Championship, is an international youth football championship organised by COSAFA for the men's under-17 national teams of Southern Africa.
South Africa and Zambia are the most successful teams in this competition, having won four titles each. Amajimbos are the current champions.
History Established in 1994, the first regional under-17 championship was held in South Africa, featuring nine teams, and was won by the host nation's Amajimbos. The competition would not be held again for another seven years, returning in 2001 in Malawi, with Blantyre and Lilongwe serving as host cities. Malawi emerged victorious on home soil, defeating the defending champions South Africa 3–0 in the final. In the following year's edition, the number of participants dropped to four, with a round-robin format. South Africa went on to be crowned champions, claiming their second title again the tournament went on a hiatus for five years and returned in 2007, with 10 teams participating. Zimbabwe claimed their first title by defeating two-time champions South Africa in a penalty shootout. After a nine-year absence, the tournament was revived in 2016 and has been held annually since then. Hosted in Mauritius, Namibia became the fourth team to lift the trophy, defeating the most successful team at the time, South Africa in a penalty shootout. The following year, Zambia joined the list of winning teams by defeating host nation Mauritius 3–0 in the final. In 2018, the tournament became the regional qualifier for the continental U-17 Africa Cup of Nations. Angola won their first trophy and along with South Africa qualified for the continental finals.
Format The format of the tournament has varied across editions, depending on the number of teams participating. When fewer than six teams entered, the tournament typically followed a single round-robin format, with an optional final between the top two teams. If six or more teams participated, the competition was held in two stages: a group stage with a single round-robin format, where each team played against the others in their group, with the top four teams across all groups advancing to the semi-finals. A final and a third-place match were then held, though the third-place match was removed starting in 2024. Participation The competition is open to all 14 COSAFA members, as well as the COSAFA associate member, Réunion. Similar to other COSAFA tournaments, The competition was previously open to CECAFA members, who were invited to participate when the tournament did not serve as a qualifier for the finals. Results YearHostFinalThird place game ChampionsScore Runners-up Third placeScoreFourth place11994 2–11–0 922001 3–01–0 1132002 Round-robinRound-robin442007 1–11–01052016 1–12–0762017 3–02–1872018 1–02–11282019 2–05–0892020 1–12–14102021 2–14–06112022 1–05–27YearHostFinalLosing semi-finalists ChampionsScore Runners-up122024 2–1 and12YearHostFinalThird place game ChampionsScore Runners-up Third placeScoreFourth place122025 2–13–012
Medals (1994-2024)
2024 Bronze Shared
Participating nations Comprehensive team results by tournament Legend: – Champion – 2nd – 3rd – 4th – Semi-finalists QF – Quarter finals GS – Group stage P – Participating in the upcoming tournament. DQ – Disqualified •• – Entered but withdrew • – Did not enter × – Banned by FIFA/ Entry not accepted by COSAFA — Country not affiliated to COSAFA
Nation 1994 2001 2002 2007 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2024 Total • GS • GS • • 1st 3rd 3rd 1st • 2nd 7 GS GS 3rd GS • GS GS • DQ GS 4th GS 9 • • • • • • • GS DQ • • GS 2 GS 4th 2nd GS • • GS 4th DQ 4th • GS 8 GS GS 4th GS • • GS GS • GS • GS 8 • GS • • GS GS • • • • • • 3 GS 1st • 4th 3rd 3rd GS GS 4th 3rd 3rd GS 11 • GS • GS GS 2nd 4th • • • • GS 62nd DQ • • • GS GS 2nd • • GS GS 6 GS GS • GS 1st • 3rd • • • GS GS 7 • • • • GS • GS • • • GS • 31st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 4th 2nd GS 1st • 2nd SF 113rd 3rd • 3rd DQ 1st GS 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 104th GS • 1st • GS GS • DQ • • SF 6Guest nations — — — — 4th — — — — — — — 1
Awards TournamentPlayer of the TournamentGolden BootGoalsGolden GloveFair Play Trophy 1994 South Africa Junaid Hartley 2001 Malawi Robert Ng'ambi 2002 South Africa Lebogang Mokoena 2007 Namibia 2016 Mauritius Peter Banda 2017 Mauritius Yannick Aristide Martin Njobvu Kennedy Nankhaima 2018 Mauritius Zito Luvumbo Prins Tjiueza 2019 Malawi Moses Mulenga Simon Cipriano Miro Rickson Ng'ambi Iford Mwale 2020 South Africa Mduduzi Shabalala Joseph Banda Eric Makungu 2021 Lesotho Joseph Banda Masambiro Kalua Joseph Banda Ariola 2022 Malawi Siyabonga Mabena Siyabonga Mabena Gennaro Johnson 2024 South Africa Mapalo Simute Abel Nyirongo Gelson Dala 2025 Zimbabwe Omphemetse Sekgoto Pedro Antonio Gelson Dala
References