Zambia Aim for Hat-Trick of COSAFA Under-17 Titles

The TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 | COSAFA Qualifiers will be staged in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 11-20 with 12 teams hoping to reach the continental finals that are to be held next year.

It will be fascinating to see which sides emerge to not only take the crown, but also advance with the chance of becoming African champions.

The 11th part of our team profiles looks at Zambia, who are record four-time winners of the tournament, including the last two editions.

ZAMBIA
Last five tournament finishes:
2019 – Winners
2020 – Runners-up
2021 – Runners-up
2022 – Winners
2024 – Winners

Zambia have been to the last five finals of the COSAFA Under-17 Championships, winning three of those, including the last two.

They will therefore be going for a unique hat-trick this time round, with no side having claimed the regional title three editions in a row.

They are already the most successful side in the competition with four wins in all, one more than South Africa.

They are the defending champions having edged Angola 2-1 in the final last year, and South Africa 1-0 in the previous edition in 2022, which made up for the disappointment of back-to-back runners-up places in 2020 and 2021.

They were also winners in 2019 as they edged Mozambique 2-0 in the final, with their two recent victories both coming in Malawian soil.

Their other tournament win came in Mauritius in 2017, having had a long wait for their maiden title in this age-group.

The side has been to the continental finals three times before, but exited in the group stages on the first two occasions in 2015 and 2023, before earning a quarterfinal spot in 2025.

That has allowed them to qualify for the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup that will be staged in Qatar later this year. It will be their first appearance at the global finals event.

Story by COSAFA