Dr Singe Chonco overjoyed with Amajita exceeding expectation after AFCON U20 triumph

This was after South Africa returned as African Champions, having defeated Morocco 1-0 in Egypt on Sunday.

In an exclusive interview with SABC Sport, Dr Chonco adds that their main target was to get into the semi-final so they can qualify for the FIFA World Cup, which they did - but glad that they overall returned home with double the prize, including the African championship.

"I just want people to acknowledge that there was a lot of work that we had put in. When I say we, I'm including the players, our technical staff as well as the medical team,” Chonco said.

“The initial goal was to qualify for the World Cup so we wanted to get to the semi's so that we qualify for the World Cup but everyone was just so motivated and confident after the quarterfinals and we said no, our goal is to actually win this for South Africa because remember this is the first time South Africa has ever won U20 AFCON tournament.

“So, we wanted to do it for them. The players wanted to do it for their families and also their careers, because remember, the players that we have some of them are not playing for their first teams.

“So, it was their first AFCON tournament, but the confidence was just on another level. I'm just glad that I worked with the best team."

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Over the years COSAFA youth teams have been on the back foot when it comes to African dominance. Dr Chonco says the North African team have been undermining COSAFA for a long time and she is happy that finally the tables have turned.

"They don't respect the COSAFA region. It was also quite amazing to see how Zambia was supportive of us after they were eliminated, but I think overall things are going to change,” she added.

“We seem to be doing really well, South Africa is doing well, Zambia did well, unfortunately, they were in the same group as us. So, they were eliminated, they didn't get to the finals."