Malawi will host the inaugural Cosafa Schools Cup from October 26 to 29 in Lilongwe.
The Cosafa tournament will act as a regional qualifier for the Caf Schools Cup, which will see all African countries participating.
The competition will give young learners an opportunity to showcase their talent at the international stage.
Football Association of Malawi (Fam) Competitions and Communication Director Gomezgani Zakazaka confirmed Thursday.
“We will work hand in hand with Region 5 Youth Games to use the competition as a trial ahead of the December Games. Most of the things have been finalised with Cosafa but we just want to finalise the concept paper,” Zakazaka said.
According to a circular from Cosafa to all member associations, the players taking part in the tournament must be not order than 15 years but with a minimum of 12 years.
Salima Secondary School will represent Malawi in the boys football category as national champions whereas Malindi Secondary School will take part in girls football.
Malawi Schools Sports Association (Massa) President Blackson Malamula expressed gratitude that Malawi has been selected to host the inaugural tournament.
“It is a welcome development and we are ready for the tournament. This will motivate not only the schools participating but also all schools in Malawi. To host inaugural tournament is not a mean achievement. So we are very happy to host the tournament,” Malamula said.
During the Cosafa Schools Cup, there will also be a Fifa Connect Workshop for all Cosafa Member Associations.
Confederation of African Football (Caf) President Patrice Motsepe launched the African Schools Programme in Maputo, Mozambique, in April this year.
Apart from hosting the Cosafa Schools Cup, Malawi will host the 2022 African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Youth Games from December 2 to 11 in Lilongwe.
During the Region 5 Games, there will be qualifiers for TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers to be staged in Algeria.
In 2019, Malawi also hosted Cosafa Under-17 championship at Mpira Stadium in Blantyre.
