THE Nelson Mandela Bay has become the happy hunting ground for national teams, with the national U/17, Amajimbos becoming the latest team to enjoy the Friendly City’s lucky charm.
Amajimbos beat Zambia 4-2 on penalties in the COSAFA Cup final on Sunday and, in the process, qualified for next year’s Junior AFCON tournament, scheduled to take place in Morocco.
Banyana Banyana defended their COSAFA Cup title in Port Elizabeth and Sunday was the turn of Amajimbos to follow suit.
Bafana Bafana walloped Sao Tome 4-2 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, the same venue they won last year’s Nelson Mandela Inaugural Challenge when they beat Mali 2-1.
These results means Amajita coach, Helman Mkhalele, will begin the COSAFA U/20 tournament under pressure to emulate Banyana Banyana, Bafana Bafana and Amajimbos, by doing well in the upcoming tournament, which kicks off tomorrow, December 3, in Nelson Mandela Bay.
‘’I would like to congratulate our latest heroes, Amajimbos, for winning the U/17 COSAFA Cup title. They told themselves that they would not be outdone by their seniors in achieving excellence in the COSAFA Cup and they duly won the title.
‘’They played their hearts out during the final, having lost to the same side in the group stages, a couple of days before the final.
“We are proud of these rising stars,’’ said SAFA president, Dr Danny Jordaan.
He said it was now up to Amajita coach, Mkhalele, to complete a remarkable year for South Africa’s national teams.
- “Our national teams have done really well this year and we expect this trend to continue in 2021,” Jordaan said.
