2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championships in numbers
We round up all the facts and figures around the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championships that are scheduled to be staged in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, from November 5-13. The draw for the finals will be held on October 20.
0 – You don’t have to miss a minute of the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship action with the draw and matches streamed live on www.cosafa.tv.
0 – There is no formal African Women’s Under-17 Championship, merely rounds of two-legged knockout ties that decide which teams will advance to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup every two years.
1 – Uganda were the inaugural winners of the COSAFA Under-17 Women’s Championship after they beat South Africa 2-1 in the decider.
1 – South Africa will host the tournament for the first time. It was scheduled to be played in Mauritius in April, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 – South Africa captain Jessica Wade, who will return to lead the team this year, was named the inaugural Player of the Tournament in the 2019 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship.
2 – Uganda were the second guest nation to win a COSAFA tournament after Tanzania broke the mould by claiming the Women’s Under-20 Championship just a few months before in Nelson Mandela Bay.
2 – The COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship will be played for the second time this year after the inaugural staging in 2019, which was held in Mauritius.
2 – There are scheduled to be two venues used for the championships, namely the Gelvandale and Wolfson stadiums.
2 – The six competing teams are to be split into two groups of three, with the top two sides in each pool advance to the semifinals.
2 – South Africa and Zambia are the only two COSAFA nations to have appeared at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. South Africa managed the feat in 2010 and 2018, while Zambia were there in 2014.
3 – South Africa are involved in the third and final round of qualifying for the 2021 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup. They must get past Morocco over two legs, after defeating Zambia in the previous stage.
3 – Zambia defeated Botswana 3-0 to claim the bronze medal for third place in the championship last year.
3 – The COSAFA Under-17 Championships are one of three women’s events that are scheduled in a ‘normal’ year, along with the COSAFA Women’s Championship and COSAFA Women’s Under-20 Championship.
4 – Only four nations from the COSAFA region have entered the qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup before – Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia. With the establishment of the COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, that number should rise.
5 – Only five African nations entered the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup, with two of those from the COSAFA region – Botswana and South Africa.
6 – There will be six teams entered into the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship, namely Botswana, Comoros, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
9 – The reduced format of the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship features nine matches, six in the first round group stage, two semifinals and a final.
14 – The COSAFA Women’s Under-17 Championship is open to all 14 of the nations that make up the Southern African regional body, while Reunion, as an associate member, may also enter tournaments.
18 – Juliet Nalukenge from champions Uganda finished as the leading scorer in last year’s championship with 18 goals in the five matches she played.
28 – The number of goals scored by South Africa as they overwhelmed Seychelles in their Group B clash in 2019. It was the biggest score in an international match in Africa, the biggest winning margin in a women’s competitive international and the largest margin of victory by any South African team.
36 – South Africa scored the most goals in pool play in 2019, with 36 in their three group matches. They were also the only side to advance with a full haul of nine points.
158 – There were a massive 158 goals scored in the 16 games in the championship in 2019, an average of almost 10 per page!
