The South Africa national under-17 football team (Amajimbos), is a youth
football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team, which represents
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and is controlled by the
South African Football Association
The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Footbal ...
, the governing body for
football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
The U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial youth association football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for its nations consist ...
and
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
and develop the players for
South Africa national soccer team
The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international association football, soccer and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana (The ...
.
History
The team was started in 1993, when
SAFA decided to form an under-17 team.
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The team's greatest achievement to date include a second-place finish at the
2015 African U-17 Championship
The 2015 African U-17 Championship was the 11th edition of the biennial international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for players aged 17 and below. The tournament took place in Niamey, Niger, an ...
, hosted in Niger and qualifying for the
2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the sixteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in Chile from 17 October to 8 November 2015.
Host selection
The following four countries bid to host the tournament:
*
*
*
*
Venues
Along with proposing ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
.
In 2025, ten years after they made their
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
debut, they qualified for the
2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup
The 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be the 20th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, the annual international men's youth association football, football tournament contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It will b ...
in
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
after reaching the quarterfinals of the
2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2025 U17 AFCON for short, was the 15th edition (20th if editions without hosts are included) of the biennial African youth foo ...
.
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
At the
2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2025 U17 AFCON for short, was the 15th edition (20th if editions without hosts are included) of the biennial African youth foo ...
they exited in the quarterfinals with a 3–1 loss to hosts Morocco after finishing as runners-up in Group B (1 loss, 1 win, and a draw). The team qualified for their second
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
in Qatar.
FIFA U/16 Talent Development Scheme Tournament
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.
COSAFA U-17 Cup
They won the
2020 COSAFA U-17 Cup 4–2 via penalties after the match ended in a 1–1 draw against
Zambia
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
.
At the
2022 COSAFA U-17 Challenge Cup, they lost 1–0 in the final to
Zambia
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...
.
Current squad
The following 20 players were selected for the
2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes or 2025 U17 AFCON for short, was the 15th edition (20th if editions without hosts are included) of the biennial African youth foo ...
held in
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
between 30 March–19 April 2025:
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
;Legend
2024
2025
Competitive record
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations record
COSAFA U-17 Championship
See also
*
Bafana Bafana
The South Africa national soccer team represents South Africa in men's international soccer and is run by the South African Football Association, the governing body for soccer in South Africa. Nicknamed Bafana Bafana (The Boys in Zulu), the ...
(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
The U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, is a biennial youth association football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for its nations consist ...
References
External links
South Africa FA official website
Head-to-head record
The following table shows South Africa's head-to-head record in the
FIFA U-17 World Cup
The FIFA U-17 World Cup, founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later changed to U-17 in 1991 and to its current name in 2007, is the annual world championship of association football for male players under the age of 17 organized by ''Fé ...
.
{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
, -
!Opponent
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!Win %
, -
, align="left",
, -
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, -
, align="left",
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!Total
{{WDLtot, 3, 0, 1, 2, for=2, against=5, diff=yes
African national under-17 association football teams
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
South Africa national soccer team