The Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championships will be played for the first time since 2011 when the competition gets under way in Lesotho tomorrow. Thirteen nations from the Cosafa region and East African guest side Kenya will make up the field, with Malawi the only southern African side that did not make the tournament. Matches will be played at two venues – Maseru and Mafeteng – with the final set for December 14. It promises to be a feast of junior football, where the next generation of stars for Cosafa sides will get to compete against their peers, and hopefully catch the eye of the watching scouts. Zambia enter the tournament as winners of the last three events between 2009 and 2011, and must once again be considered among the favourites given the strength of junior football in the country. Young Chipolopolo have been placed in a tough Group C in the competition though and will face off against regional powerhouse South Africa, Namibia and Seychelles. The South Africans have not fared well in recent Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championship tournaments, but this year they are led by the veteran coach Shakes Mashaba, arguably the most decorated tactician at the finals. Competitive Namibians Namibia is another side that is always competitive and has the ability to beat anybody on the day, while the islanders of Seychelles will be something of an unknown. Group A is the other four-team pool and should be equally hard fought. It contains hosts Lesotho, a powerful Kenya selection, and the twin island nations of Comoros and Mauritius. Lesotho have been one of the shining lights of the region in recent times, qualifying for the 2011 African Youth Championships, but now need to rebuild with a new generation of stars. Kenya asked to compete in this competition following the decision of Malawi not to contest, knowing that the standard will help them prepare for their own challenges ahead. Kenya usually compete in the Cecafa Under-20 Championships, but that competition has not been played since 2010. There are also two three-team pools at the Cosafa Under-20 Youth Championships, with teams in those also playing a third cross-over game to ensure all sides play three pool-stage matches. Group B is headed by Angola and also contains Mozambique and Madagascar, while Group D contains Zimbabwe, Botswana and Swaziland. Both look evenly matched. The top side in Group B will play the second-placed team in Group D after the first two rounds of action, and vice versa. The top sides in each group will advance to the semi-finals, the winner of Group A taking on the leading side in Group C and the victors in Groups B and D.
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