South Africa national under-17 soccer team
| Nickname(s) | Amajimbos |
|---|---|
| Association | South African Football Association |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Sub-confederation | COSAFA |
| Head coach | South Africa Vela Khumalo |
| Captain | Bokamoso Mokokosi |
| Most caps | Thamsanqa Ayanda Juqu |
| Top scorer | Siyabonga Mabena (9 goals) |
| Home stadium | FNB Stadium |
| FIFA code | RSA |
| Biggest win | |
| South Africa 4–0 Lesotho (16 August 2024) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Senegal 5–0 South Africa (10 May 2023) | |
| U-17 Africa Cup of Nations | |
| Appearances | 4 (first in 2005 ) |
| Best result | 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-Up (2015) |
| COSAFA U-17 Youth Championship | |
| Appearances | 7 (first in 1994) |
| Best result | 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions (1994), (2002), and (2020) |
| FIFA U-17 World Cup | |
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2015 ) |
| Best result | Group Stage (2015) |
| Website | https://www.safa.net/ |
The South Africa national under-17 football team (Amajimbos), is a youth football (soccer) team, which represents South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations and FIFA U-17 World Cup and develop the players for the main national team Bafana Bafana.[1]
History
[edit ]The team was started in 1993, when the SAFA decided to form an under-17 team. The team's greatest achievement to date include a second-place finish at the 2015 African U-17 Championship, hosted in Niger and qualifying for the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[2]
In 2024, they were invited to play at the FIFA U/16 Talent Development Scheme Tournament held in Ivory Coast. The team finished with 2 wins and 1 loss.[3] [4] [5]
COSAFA U-17 Cup
[edit ]They won the 2020 COSAFA U-17 Cup 4-2 via penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 draw against Zambia.[6]
At the 2022 COSAFA U-17 Challenge Cup, they lost 1-0 in the final to Zambia.[7] [8]
Current squad
[edit ]The following 20 players were selected for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco between 30 March–19 April 2025:[9]
Results and fixtures
[edit ]The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.[10] [11]
- Legend
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2025
[edit ]2024
[edit ]- Bohloko 90+'
Competitive record
[edit ]
FIFA U-17 World Cup record[edit ]
|
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations record[edit ]
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COSAFA U-17 Championship
[edit ]| COSAFA U-17 Challenge Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D* | L | GS | GA | GD |
| Mauritius 2016 | Runners-Up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | +10 |
| Mauritius 2017 | Fourth place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Mauritius 2018 | Runners-Up | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 |
| Malawi 2019 | Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | +19 |
| South Africa 2020 | Champions | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 |
| Lesotho 2021 | Did not participate | |||||||
| Malawi 2022 | Runners-Up | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 3 | +14 |
| Total | 28 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 55 | 35 | ||
Head-to-head record
[edit ]The following table shows South Africa's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| North Korea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 000.00 |
| Russia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 000.00 |
See also
[edit ]- Bafana Bafana (South Africa national football team)
- Amajita (South Africa national under-20 football team)
- Amaglug-glug (South Africa national under-23 football team)
- Amabinneplaas (South Africa national development football team)
- Africa U-17 Cup of Nations
References
[edit ]- ^ "SA U17 team ultimate aim is to qualify for FIFA World Cup - SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader". 18 April 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015TM: South Africa". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
- ^ Gcwabe, Ongama (31 August 2024). "SuperSport Schools Plus | Amajimbos jet off to Fifa u17 TDS Nations Tournament". SuperSport Schools Plus. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ Pongco, Siya (6 September 2024). "SuperSport Schools Plus | Amajimbos win again in Côte d'Ivoire". SuperSport Schools Plus. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
- ^ "Vela Khumalo lauds the preparation of Amajimbos as the project starts to take shape | soccer". SABC. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ "EN, FR, PR: South Africa win COSAFA Qualifiers for TOTAL U-17 AFCON, Morocco 2021!". 29 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ Kanjere, Peter (12 December 2022). "COSAFA Championship joy for SA girls, heartbreak for Amajimbos". FARPost. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ "Coach Khumalo names final Amajimbos squad for COSAFA Youth Championships - SAFA.net". 29 November 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
- ^ Times, iDiski (25 March 2025). "Final U17 AFCON Squad Announced". iDiski Times. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ^ Ndubane, Khaya (23 April 2024). "Khumalo proud of Amajimbos after draw with Colombia". The Citizen. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.