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 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations and FIFA U-17 World Cup and develop the players for South Africa national soccer team .[ 1]
The team was started in 1993, when SAFA decided to form an under-17 team.
FIFA U-17 World Cup [ edit ] 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 2025, ten years after they made their FIFA U-17 World Cup debut, they qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar after reaching the quarterfinals of the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations .[ 3] [ 4]
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations [ edit ] At the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations 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).[ 5] FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.[ 6]
[ edit ] 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.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9]
They won the 2020 COSAFA U-17 Cup 4-2 via penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 draw against Zambia .[ 10]
At the 2022 COSAFA U-17 Challenge Cup , they lost 1-0 in the final to Zambia .[ 11] [ 12]
The following 20 players were selected for the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations held in Morocco between 30 March–19 April 2025:[ 13]
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.[ 14] [ 15]
Legend Win Draw Loss Fixture
U-17 Africa Cup of Nations record [ edit ]
COSAFA U-17 Championship [ edit ]
COSAFA U-17 Challenge Cup record
Year
Round
2016 Runners-Up 5
4
0
1
11
1
+10
2017 Fourth place 5
3
0
1
11
11
0
2018 Runners-Up 5
3
1
1
8
3
+5
2019 Group Stage
3
0
1
2
1
11
+19
2020 Champions 5
3
1
1
7
6
+1
2021 Did not participate
2022 Runners-Up 5
3
0
2
17
3
+14
2024 Semi-finalist
4
3
0
1
11
4
+7
Total
32
19
3
9
66
39
^ "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 2015™: South Africa" . www.fifa.com . Retrieved 8 December 2023 .^ "South Africa qualify for World Cup finals and progress to Afcon quarter-finals despite defeat to Burkina Faso | Goal.com South Africa" . www.goal.com . 6 April 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025 .^ Mokhesi, Tokelo (7 April 2025). "What Vela Khumalo said after Amajimbos' World Cup qualification" . FARPost . Retrieved 7 April 2025 . ^ "TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON – Morocco vs South Africa: The Lion Cubs take on skilful Amajimbos" . TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON – Morocco vs South Africa: The Lion Cubs take on skilful Amajimbos . Retrieved 13 April 2025 .^ "South Africa's national team Amajimbos qualify for FIFA Under-17 World Cup" . Primedia Plus . Retrieved 13 April 2025 .^ 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 .
National teams
League system
Domestic cups
Awards Lists
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
00 0.00
North Korea
1
0
1
0
1
1
+0
00 0.00
Russia
1
0
0
1
0
2
−2
00 0.00
Total
3
0
1
2
2
5
−3
00 0.00
Vela Khumalo
Lesotho 
Senegal 5–0 
Runners-Up (2015)
Champions (1994), (2002), and (2020)
Morocco 
54'
Burkina Faso 
Cameroon 
Egypt 
Zambia 
Mauritius 
Comoros 
Botswana 
Tanzania 
Algeria 
Colombia 
2019
Costa Rica
North Korea
Russia