LATE last week, the draws for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) U-17 and U-20 AFCON Championships were held and the revealing of the groups has really set tongues wagging on the continent, which is utterly gaga about football.

Here on the home front, we will be taking a keen interest in the aforementioned two youth competitions as our national Under-17 and Under-20 teams have proudly already sealed their berths in both enormously esteemed tournaments.

Indeed, it is vital to highlight the fact that we have rarely qualified for the CAF Under-17 and Under-20 AFCONS in the past couple of decades.

Hence, to describe the accomplishments of our national youth football teams as no mean feat would definitely not be an overstatement or an exaggeration.

But let us now return to the CAF Under-17 and Under-20 AFCONS groups which were revealed late last week.

For our part, our national Under-17 football team was drawn in a tricky Group A alongside hosts Morocco, Uganda, and Zambia.

On paper, the two teams in Group A which will present the sternest test for our Serengeti Boys are of course Zambia and Morocco, who are both traditional contenders for pieces of silverware across the age spectrum of continental football.

This does not mean that we should underestimate the potential of Uganda to overcome our Serengeti Boys when these two East African foes clash with each other.

So, with the groups of the CAF Under-17 AFCON now already revealed, one hopes that the Serengeti Boys can undergo intensive preparations for the much-anticipated football event.

Let us now shift our attention to the CAF Under-20 AFCON, which will take place in Ivory Coast from April 26 to May 18, this year.

As stated earlier in this commentary, our national U-20 football team secured their spot at the CAF U-20 AFCON after earning a slim 2-1 victory over Kenya last year in October in the final of the CECAFA Qualifiers for the Under-20 AFCON.

And, as fate would have it, our national U-20 football team was drawn in Group A along with the Ivory Coast, erstwhile champions Ghana, the DR Congo and a second team from the Central African Football Federations’ Union (UNIFFAC).

It should be noted here that powerhouses like Ivory Coast, Ghana and the DR Congo will pose significant obstacles to our long-held dreams of progressing to the quarterfinals, which would be an irrefutably stellar coup.

In light of that, it is hoped that our national Under-20 football team can engage in exhaustive preparations for this special competition as they seek to put their best foot forward on arguably the continent’s biggest youth football stage.

Interestingly, the group that can unarguably be termed the ‘Group of Death’ is Group B, which consists of giants Nigeria, behemoths Egypt, the ever-ambitious Morocco and the always dangerous South Africa.

Indeed, football encounters between all of Group B’s contestants will likely all be gripping battles which will provide loads of excitement.

Thus, it is a certainty that numberless Tanzanians will be cheering on our teams of hopeful youngsters as they prepare for the herculean task that lies ahead.