Namibia will face South Africa in the 2016 Council of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Under 17 (U-17) championship final!
Namibia are in the final after a 6-5 penalty shoot-out win over Malawi on Friday. The match ended 1-1.
Elderly Morgan equalised late for Namibia to force penalties.
Meanwhile, South Africa strolled into Sunday’s final against Namibia with a 4-0 win over Kenya.
Namibia faced Malawi in the semifinals after Zambia’s disqualification from the youth tournament.
The Namibian U-17 football team progressed to the semifinals of the championship following a 4-1 victory over Seychelles on Wednesday.
They were schedule to play Group B winner Zambia on Friday.
Cosafa, however, reported that Zambia have been disqualified from the U-17 championship after being found to have fielded two over-age players for the tournament.
Consequently, Malawi finished top of Group B and east African guest nation Kenya claimed the runners-up spot.
“Zambia’s disqualification follows fresh Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) tests carried out on forward Nicholas Mulilo and Benjamin Phiri in Mauritius, which found the players were over 17 and therefore, according to Clause 10.5 (I) of the tournament regulations, are not eligible to compete in the competition.
“Zambia had willingly submitted both players for re-testing in Mauritius after complaints from two countries,” read the report.
The report added that the pair had been tested, along with the rest of the squad, in Zambia prior to their arrival at the tournament, as is mandatory for all players competing at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-17 qualifiers and U-17 Youth Championships final tournament.
Information sourced later from CAF, however, indicated that these tests were incorrectly done.
“The re-tests carried out in Mauritius revealed the players were not eligible to compete. MRI scans have become standard in assessing the age of players in this age group with a 99% accuracy.
“Every bone in the arm and leg has an end plate from which bones grow. When the growth is completed (usually around the age of 17), then this end plate disappears on the MRI scans. If it can be seen on the MRI scans, then it is proof that the player is 17 or younger,” it added.
South Africa beat Namibia 4-0 in their Group A clash in Port Louis on Monday.
The final will be played at 12h30 GMT on Sunday, 31 July.
-Additional reporting: Nampa
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