Under 23s in tough Olympic group

WINDHOEK – Namibia’s Young Warriors has been drawn in what could be termed a tough qualifying group for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The draw for the qualifying matches, which was conducted by world football governing body Fifa earlier this week, pitted Namibia’s Young Warriors against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. The two seeded teams in the group are South Africa and Zimbabwe.The Namibian under-23 side will play its first match away to South Africa during the first week of September this year, with the return leg set for the following month.Zimbabwe and Tanzania will also face each other during that time, with the respective winners from the two group matches qualifying for the second round.Namibia must, therefore, beat South Africa on aggregate (over the two matches) to advance to the second round, which is scheduled for February or March 2007.In the second round, a total of 24 teams will fight for the right to play in the third round, in which teams will be drawn into groups.These teams include 17 winners of the first round and seven others – Tunisia, Mali, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Angola – who received byes into the second round.The final qualifying round is set for the first weekend of June 2007 up to March 2008.During this stage, the 12 second-round winners will be divided into three groups of four teams, who will play on a round-robin basis with the eventual winner of each group qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.The seeded teams in the qualifying competition include Zambia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Uganda, Algeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Guinea, Libya, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Sudan, Botswana and Malawi.The unseeded group includes Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Tanzania.- NampaThe two seeded teams in the group are South Africa and Zimbabwe.The Namibian under-23 side will play its first match away to South Africa during the first week of September this year, with the return leg set for the following month.Zimbabwe and Tanzania will also face each other during that time, with the respective winners from the two group matches qualifying for the second round.Namibia must, therefore, beat South Africa on aggregate (over the two matches) to advance to the second round, which is scheduled for February or March 2007.In the second round, a total of 24 teams will fight for the right to play in the third round, in which teams will be drawn into groups.These teams include 17 winners of the first round and seven others – Tunisia, Mali, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Angola – who received byes into the second round.The final qualifying round is set for the first weekend of June 2007 up to March 2008.During this stage, the 12 second-round winners will be divided into three groups of four teams, who will play on a round-robin basis with the eventual winner of each group qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.The seeded teams in the qualifying competition include Zambia, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Uganda, Algeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Guinea, Libya, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Sudan, Botswana and Malawi.The unseeded group includes Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Tanzania.- Nampa