The 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships, sponsored by PPC, will be played at two venues in South Africa’s North West Province from December 7-16.
The Moruleng Stadium and Mogwase Stadiums both provide excellent facilities for the players and spectators alike.
Here is a run-down of the two venues:
MORULENG STADIUM
Capacity: 20,000
Town: Moruleng
About: The Moruleng was built as a training venue for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and has seen some of the biggest names in world football grace its pitch.
Opened in 2009 ahead of the showpiece tournament, it is a state-of-the-art facility in the small mining town of Moruleng some 60-kilometres from Rustenburg near the famed Sun City resort.
The venue is an alternate ground for South African Premier Soccer League side Platinum Stars and complies with all FIFA stadium regulations.
The England national team played the local North West province club at the facility in a friendly match ahead of the World Cup, while top African side Algeria have also played there.
The stadium was built by the Bakgatla Ba Kgafela tribe which is scattered across 32 villages in the North West province. The tribe’s main source of wealth comes from mining platinum.
It will predominantly host matches in Group A, which includes South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland, and Group B that contains Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
MOGWASE STADIUM
Capacity: 3.500
Town: Mogwase
About: The Mogwase Stadium was used as a training base by both South Africa and the United States of America ahead of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, which was in part staged at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.
The compact venue has an intimate feel and is situated in the town of Mogwase, which is the in the Bojanala District Municipality in the North West province.
Mogwase has a population of around 11,000, but is a rapidly developing town due to its importance to the Platinum mining sector.
The Mogwase stadium is often used for community events and will get a rare taste if international football during the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships.
It will predominantly host matches in Group C, which includes Angola, Namibia Seychelles and Mauritius, and Group D that contains DR Congo, Mozambique and Comoros Islands.
