IN A year in which Banyana Banyana have been South African soccer's shining stars, Shakes Mashaba's under-17 national side also ended the year on a high.
Amajimbos, as the youngsters are known, were crowned champions of the Zone VI Games - a Southern Africa youth competition - after beating hosts Zambia in Lusaka at the weekend.
Having gone into the dressing room at halftime trailing 1-0, Amajimbos showed fighting spirit in the second half to take gold with a 2-1 victory.
A satisfied Mashaba said: "We did not travel all the way to Zambia for nothing. We came here to win - to win gold."
The side completed the competition unbeaten, having conquered Malawi, Botswana and the Seychelles, and drawn 0-0 with Zambia in the group stages.
They then registered a 3-0 win against Angola in the semifinals. -
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