South Africa’s Amajita will compete at the Region 5 Games 2025 in Windhoek, Namibia, as defending champions in the men’s Under-20 tournament.
The tournament will run from 4-13 July.
Moreover, they lifted the title in Mozambique last year, building momentum for the season ahead.
In May 2025, they made history by winning the African U20 Championship in Egypt, their first continental title.
The team will kick off their campaign against Zambia on 5 July. They will then face Botswana on 7 July and Eswatini on 9 July in their final group match.
South Africa has won the regional U20 tournament a remarkable nine times, first triumphing in 2000.
They also hosted the event for 11 straight years from 1999 to 2009.
In addition, the country has qualified for the Africa U20 Championship nine times, earning gold in 2023 and silver in 1997.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY AND RECENT FORM
In 2016, South Africa reached the COSAFA U20 final on home soil but narrowly lost 2-1 to Zambia.
However, the team bounced back in 2017, winning the title after topping their group with nine points and defeating Egypt 1-0 in the semi-finals, before edging Lesotho 2-1 in the final.
They retained their crown in 2018 by winning their group and edging Angola 1-0 in the semi-final before a penalty shootout win (4-3) over Zimbabwe in the final after a 1-1 draw.
However, their 2019 campaign ended in disappointment with a 3-0 defeat to Zambia in the final.
In 2020, they were eliminated in the group stage despite a commanding 7-0 win over Lesotho.
A third-place finish followed in 2022.
Fortunately, in 2024 they bounced back strongly, defeating Malawi (5-0), Lesotho (6-0), Comoros (2-0), Angola (1-0) in the semi-final, and Zambia (2-0) in the final.
SOUTH AFRICA’S REGION 5 GAMES U20 MEN’S RESULTS (1999-2024)
- 1999: Runners-up
- 2000: Winners
- 2001: Fourth place
- 2002: Third place
- 2003: Third place
- 2004: Winners
- 2005: Fourth place
- 2006: Winners
- 2007: Runners-up
- 2008: Winners
- 2009: Winners
- 2010: Group stage exit
- 2011: Group stage exit
- 2013: Winners
- 2016: Runners-up
- 2017: Winners
- 2018: Winners
- 2019: Runners-up
- 2020: Group stage exit
- 2022: Third place
- 2024: Winners
WOMEN’S U20 TEAM AMONG REGION 5 GAMES FAVOURITES
South Africa’s women’s Under-20 team, known as Basetsana, will compete at the Region 5 Games in Windhoek.
The tournament runs from 4–13 July 2025.
They won all three Region 5 Games women’s U20 events between 2014 and 2018.
Their earlier dominance was on full display in 2014 (wins over Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia), 2016 (beating Namibia in the final), and 2018 (a 1-0 final win over hosts Botswana). Key Banyana Banyana stars like Linda Motlhalo featured in those early triumphs.
In the 2019 COSAFA U20 Women’s Championship, they finished third. Where they topped their group with wins over Zimbabwe (3-0), Namibia (1-0), and Mozambique (3-1). Nevertheless, they lost 2-0 to eventual champions Tanzania in the semi-finals. They edged Zimbabwe 4-3 on penalties to secure third place.
Furthermore in the 2024 edition, they claimed silver. South Africa beat Mozambique (4-0), Lesotho (3-0), and Botswana (3-0). However they lost 3-0 to Zambia in a decisive round-robin match.
Despite their consistent efforts over the years, South Africa’s women’s U20 side have still not managed to qualify for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. They have fallen short at the final hurdle on five occasions.
The Region 5 Games will help prepare the team for their next challenge a CAF U20 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Eswatini in September 2025.
What are your expectations for South Africa’s U20 sides at the Region 5 Games 2025?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11.
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