Johannesburg hosts Cosafa U-20 draw
THE Zimbabwe national Under-20 team set to compete at this year’s Cosafa Championships in Zambia will know their opponents tomorrow when the draw for the regional fiesta is held in Johannesburg.
The tournament takes place December 6-16 in Kitwe, Zambia.
Former Warriors’ rightback Bekithemba Ndlovu has been handed the responsibility to lead the team at the tournament.
And the former Highlanders man is not leaving anything to chance as he has hit the ground running, conducting a series of trials across the country in his attempt to revive the Young Warriors’ Cosafa fortunes after a poor between run at last year’s tournament in South Africa.
He has been looking for fresh talent from across the country ahead of the regional showpiece.
The Young Warriors last won the tournament in 2007.
Since then the Young Warriors, who also used such tournaments to showcase the talents of players like Knowledge Musona, Khama Billiat, Archford Gutu, George Chigova, Kelvin Mushangazhike and Tinashe Nengomasha, have struggled to impose themselves and have often failed to go beyond the group stage.
The Young Warriors were part of the cast of teams that competed at the 2016 Cosafa Under-20 edition in Moruleng, South Africa, but they had a forgettable appearance at the tournament and exited at the first round stage. A heavy 5-1 defeat at the hands of eventual winners Zambia in their opening match and a 0-0 draw against Malawi set the tone for their poor campaign. That poor run sparked outrage at home with former Warriors such as Esrom Nyandoro, who was a television pundit at the tournament, questioning whether the squad that had been sent to South Africa had been truly representative of the talent at the country’s disposal.