Books stumbling block to Under-17s success

The team returned from West Africa on Wednesday where they played friendly matches against Nigeria and Cote de' Ivoire. They lost all the four friendly matches including a 9-0 heavy loss to Nigeria in their last friendly match.

Coach Kagiso Kobedi had said after the losses that he would like to continue with preparations until the championships as the team lacked fitness after missing weeks of training. Kobedi's wish would however prove to be a difficult task as the team, made up of entirely secondary school students, dispersed to their schools immediately after arrival to catch up with their academic work.