Mbabane – The Eswatini Under-17 national football team is gearing up to participate in the TotalEnergies Confederation of African Football (CAF) U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 2026 COSAFA Qualifiers, which will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from September 11 to 20.
The squad is preparing for the challenging tournament with the goal of improving last year’s results.
The team’s head coach, Sindiso Gama, expressed confidence in his players despite the selection process not covering all four regions of the country.
“As the technical staff, we have tried everything in our power to pick or choose players who will represent the country well,” Gama said. “We might not have searched from all four regions of the country, but we believe the ones we chose can represent us.”
Coach Gama emphasized the team’s objective which is to surpass their previous performance.
“Our objective as the technical staff is to improve our last year’s results because last year we went there and played the same tournament, so our main target this time is to improve those results,” he said.
Team captain, Mazwamahle Vilakati, thanked everyone for the opportunity to represent the country and promised a dedicated performance from the squad.
“We will put all our effort and win as a country,” Vilakati stated, reflecting the team’s collective determination.
The tournament will also feature a new, stricter rule, all participating players must undergo compulsory eligibility tests. This is a measure by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to combat age-cheating in U-17 tournaments. These tests, which include a wrist bone (MRI) scan, are designed to verify the age of the players. Dr. Sithulisiwe Bhebhe, the CAF Medical Manager, noted that this protocol has led to a significant reduction in eligibility issues across the continent.
Eswatini’s team will face Comoros in their opening match on September 11. The 12 participating teams are divided into three groups of four, with the top teams from each group and the best second-placed team advancing to the semi-finals.
The Eswatini squad will be hoping for a strong showing as they take on the best of the COSAFA region in a bid to qualify for the next stage of the prestigious U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
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