By GWEN CHIPASULA –

ZAMBIA coach Oswald Mutapa has described as tough the Mauritius 2016 COSAFA Under-17 Championship draws.
The Champions Zambia, who won the last edition held in 2014 after beating Zimbabwe 3-0, have been drawn against neighbours Malawi, Madagascar and Mozambique at the tournament to run from July 22 to 31.
Mutapa, who is being assisted by his younger brother Perry, said in an interview that the draws were tough and would need adequate preparations.
He expressed worry at the limited time remaining  before the tournament kicks off but was confident that the technical bench would do all it can to get the lads ready for the tournament.
“It is a tough draw; the teams there are all good. But we shall be ready by the time we are competing.
“We only have two weeks remaining to prepare, so we are doing the best we can to get them ready. Under-17 is not a very safe category considering that the boys are joining the national team for the first time, but all will be ok,” said Mutapa, who replaced Chris Kaunda last week.
Mutapa said the technical bench has prepared a number of local friendly matches to help the team prepare for the regional tournament.
He has since rallied his players to go to Mauritius and put up a good fight and retain the title.
The tournament will be played at two venues in Mauritius, the George V Stadium in Curepipe and St. François Xavier Stadium in the capital Port Louis.
The last COSAFA Under-17 Championship was played in Zimbabwe in 2014 as part of the AUSC Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games and saw Zambia defeat the hosts 3-0 in the final as Namibia finished third after defeating Malawi 2-1.