Lesotho drawn against South Africa in COSAFA Under-20

Lesotho will face South Africa in December's Under-20 Championships

Lesotho has been drawn against hosts South Africa for the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships in December. The draw for the tournament was held yesterday.

The 16-team championships will be staged in Moruleng in South Africa’s North West Province from December 7 to 16 and the Makoanyane XI have been pitted in Group A with South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland.

Only the top team from each of the four pools of four teams will advance to the semi-finals.

It means there will be an early exit for one of the region’s heavyweights as Group B contains Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, three teams that are perennial contenders at the tournament.

Group C, meanwhile, will see Angola, Namibia, Seychelles and Mauritius face off while Group D contains Mozambique, Comoros Islands and East African guest nation Rwanda.

The tournament fixtures will be played at two venues, the Mogwase Stadium and Moruleng Stadium, with the latter being used exclusively from the semi-finals onwards. The competition’s third-place play-off and final will both be played on December 16 which is a public holiday in South Africa.

COSAFA is staging the Under-20 showpiece for the first time since 2013 when it was held in Lesotho and won by South Africa. It makes a welcome return to the calendar and will provide an opportunity for Lesotho’s young stars to catch the eye of international scouts.

To netball and the Lesotho Netball Association has assembled a preliminary squad of 14 players for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games to be held in Angola in December.

Four of the squad were part of the Lesotho team that took part in the Under-21 Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers that were held in Botswana in July.

The rest of the players have been scouted from Lesotho Institution of Secondary Schools games which took place in August and nationwide trials that were held by the LNA in September.

The group of 14 players will be cut down to a final squad of 12 over the coming month with the Region 5 Games, which are for Under-20 athletes, set to begin on December 4.

The team will use the Lehakoe Recreational Centre for their preparations.