The battle for the seven spots for the 2015 CAF U-17 Championship – Niger 2015 gets keener, with the first leg matches of the second round taking place this weekend across the continent.
Following the completion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the attention will be focused on African football and the twinkle twinkle little stars will be the centre of attraction.
Unlike the first round, which saw only a handful of matches as a result of withdrawals by some teams; the second round will see 24 teams in contention for the six slots to join Ghana and Tunisia in the final round following the withdrawal of South sudan and Sierra Leone respectively.
The curtains will be opened on Friday in Dar-es-Salaam, where Tanzania will play host to South Africa in a dicey duel. The Serengeti Boys as the Tanzanians are nicknamed, have been bracing up for the challenge against the Amajimbos in a game that coach of the former, Ababuu Omary is hoping the absence of two key players, Geoffrey Kigi and Shaaban Pandu, who have been ruled ineligible for the cadet championship will play little meaning.
Omari, who reckons a tough test against the South Africans believes the mental toughness of his players can aid their ambitions in the first leg clash.
“The mental strength of the players will be key against the South Africans. We have been building on their confidence as well for the game,” Omari was quoted by local daily, Daily News.
The Amajimbos meanwhile are riding on a crest wave of positives from a training tour of Botswana and Lesotho, where they beat their counterparts in test games, scoring nine goals with no reply.
Coach Molefi Ntseki is upbeat the fruits of the training camp will reflect in the game against the Tanzanians.
“We did this exercise (training tour) to see how the players will react in different situations. Despite all those changes, the team did very well showing some balance in the team. I am confident that going to Tanzania we will keep the same spirit that prevailed over the last two weeks, as well as the mental strength,” he told the South African Football Association (SAFA) website before the team’s departure last Tuesday.
On Saturday, Uganda will face Rwanda in Kampala, Mozambique against Angola in Maputo, Cameroon versus Burkina Faso in Yaoundé whilst Benin and Mali cross swords in Porto Novo.
Reigning champions, Cote d’Ivoire begins the journey towards a successful defence of the crown against Libya on Sunday at the Olympique Stadium in Tunis, the Tunisian capital due to the current political situation in Libya.
Zambia will host fellow Southerners Botswana in Lusaka, Guinea against Morocco in Conakry whilst Togo squares Senegal at the Municipal Stadium in Lome.
Losing finalists at the last edition in Morocco in 2013, Nigeria travels to Lubumbashi to face DR Congo, Egypt welcomes Congo to Cairo and Ethiopia versus Gabon in Addis Ababa.
The second leg matches will take place on the weekend of 1-3 August 2014, with the winners advancing to the final round.
The final tournament will be held from 15 February to 1 March 2015 in Niger, with the semifinalists qualifying to represent the continent at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled for Chile.
Fixtures
Friday, 18 July 2014
Tanzania vs South Africa
Saturday, 19 July 2014
Uganda vs Rwanda
Mozambique vs Angola
Cameroon vs Burkina Faso
Benin vs Mali
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Zambia vs Botswana
DR Congo vs Nigeria
Togo vs Senegal
Guinea vs Morocco
Libya vs Cote d’Ivoire
Egypt vs Congo
Ethiopia vs Gabon
*South sudan vs Ghana
*Sierra Leone vs Tunisia
*withdrew [Ghana, Tunisia qualify for third round]
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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