• Football

Cosafa opener of key importance – Ndeitunga

• 2 Days Ago 02 December 2024

The Baby Gladiators concluded their preparations for the Cosafa Qualifier to the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations kicking off on Thursday this week.

Both the Cosafa tournaments – for boys and girls, running from 4 to 14 December – was moved to be hosted in Johannesburg following post-election protests in Mozambique.

The two finalists will seal their place at the continental competition which is to be staged in Ivory Coast next year.

Drawn in an interesting group alongside Madagascar, South Africa and Malawi, Namibia is hoping to make a first impression in their opening match when they take on Madagascar at the UJ Soweto Stadium on Thursday.

Girls head coach Hafeni Ndeitunga said: “I am quite impressed with how the girls have been doing considering we only trained for a few days.

“There is a lot of talent in the country, but some girls had to stay behind because of issues with their travelling documents.

“We are currently focused on our first hurdle which is Madagascar. We believe the opening match sets the tone to the rest of the matches during the tournament.

“Our last sessions were focused more on the tactical aspect of the game; we need to get the girls get used to playing with each other.”

The Namibian team departed via road to South Africa yesterday.



Namibia girls fixtures

Namibia v Madagascar, Thursday 05 December at 09:30, UJ Soweto Stadium.

South Africa v Namibia, Saturday 07 December at 15:30, UJ Soweto Stadium.

Malawi v Namibia, Monday 09 December at 12:30, UJ Soweto Stadium.



Girls squad list

Florence Ndeshipanda Mwalundange, Mikaella Kharigus, Kathleen Angel Dausas, Kanene Tjizu, Wilma Hinandyoteti Negumbo, Uakataviza Tjituka, Ontheeditse Tokwane, Rauna Ndinoshisho Uugulu, Brianna Carmen Matthias, Nancy Boipelo Lebang, Juliatta Amy Berndt, Unice Viviane Mafuta, Nanami Uarije, Cherifa Cody Goroes, Reginalda Angel Hangula, Grace Rehana Eises, Joy Sweetness Goses.



BABY WARRIORS EAGER TO PLAY ON CONTINENTAL STAGE



Namibia’s U17 boys national team reported for camp ahead of the highly anticipated Cosafa U17 championship in Johannesburg.

The Baby Warriors will be looking to do extremely well in the Cosafa tournament, with the main aim of qualifying for the 2025 CAF U17 Africa Cup of Nations as the target.

Speaking to NFA Media, head coach Gerald Guther emphasised the importance of this squad doing well in the Cosafa Championships.

“We did the best considering the time frame, the overall fitness of the team looks good, we have players from Australia, Pretoria and Cape Town and the local academies were active.

"The team understands the importance of this tournament. The boys are eager to play, I believe we have selected a strong, quality squad and will be able to achieve our objectives. Our objective for the Cosafa Championships is clear. We want to go all out and play on the continental stage,” Guther said.

The Namibia boys will open their Cosafa campaign against Zambia on Thursday, before taking on Eswatini two days later and conclude their group stage against Zimbabwe on Monday 9 December.

Goalkeepers: Mcheni Kavendji, Milco Solunga.

Defenders: Everett Bell, Alex Katjiua, Antonius Guiseb, Mauricio Smith, Mpumelemo Damion Malgas.

Midfielders: Delpiero Koam, Montgomery Karuaihe, Ngamburiro Tjatindi, Nikolas Deckenbrock, Joshua Moller, Shoombe Taleiko.

Forwards: Johandry Motinga, Vitario Brunzuel, Christiano Useb, Adriano Gawab, Braydon Paulse, Ronald Kandjou, Stephen Kamulu.



REGULATIONS

The regulations for the two competitions are the same. The teams have been drawn into three groups, two containing four teams and one of three sides.

The top team in each pool advances to the semifinals along with the best-placed runner-up. When calculating the best-placed runner-up, results against the side that finishes bottom in the pool are disregarded.

There will be no extra-time played in the semifinals or final. Tied matches will go straight to penalties.

Teams may make up to five substitutions in a game, though these must be limited to three separate occasions within the match (not including halftime). A maximum of nine substitutes are permitted on the bench.

Determining the best runner-up: The results of the team finishing in the fourth position will be discarded for the pools that have that number of teams. The best runner-up across the three groups will be determined as follows:

(a) The higher number of points the teams concerned obtained in their group matches;

(b) The superior goal difference of the teams concerned;

(c) The higher number of goals for the teams concerned;

(d) A Fair Play points of the teams concerned in terms of yellow or red cards accumulated in the pool phase.

All players taking part in the Cosafa qualifier in Johannesburg will undergo Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) assessments to confirm their eligibility.

The tests are used to ensure the players are within the required birth date range for the competition, which starts from January 1, 2008, and follows the ineligibility of four sides from the Cosafa Qualifier for the U17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2021.

Botswana, Comoros, Eswatini and Zimbabwe were all excluded from the competition in 2020 after one or more players failed a MRI assessment.