Zimpapers Logo

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Under-20 women’s football team was drawn in Group A alongside hosts Botswana in the eighth edition of the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games that will be held in Gaborone at the end of the year.

In the draw conducted on Friday, Zimbabwe’s other group competitors will be Malawi and Lesotho, while Group B will consist of South Africa, Namibia and Eswatini.

Zimbabwe will get their competition underway against Lesotho at the National Stadium on December 8 and then lock horns against the hosts at the Jamal Stadium the following day before wrapping up their group games on December 11 against Malawi.

If they progress to the semi-finals, they will play on December 13 at the University of Botswana grounds.

Third place and the final matches will be held two day later at the University of Botswana.

Zimbabwe registered a depleted squad of 86 for this year’s games instead of the expected 316 athletes because of lack of funding with the other sport codes being athletics, athletics for the visually impaired, tennis, swimming and netball.

According to the regional organising committee, the rest of the draws will be released today as the countdown to the games, which are set to run from December 6-16, gathers momentum.

Regional and international volunteers have already been trained while inspection of venues was done last week.

Most of the venues were just being spruced up as they already existed, according to Ausc chief executive officer Stanley Mutoya.

The African Union Sport Council Region 5 (AUSC Region 5) is the sports arm of the African Union, which was once the Organisation of African Unity. It was formed in the 1960s, and its headquarters is based in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The main aim of the AUSC is to use sports to achieve peace, integration and unity in Africa, that is, sport as a vehicle of encouraging people to develop and come together, irrespective of colour, economic status, political, class, or gender.