Mozambique’s Under-20 team began the first of two training camps this week as they prepare to participate as the COSAFA champions at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Mauritania next month.

A 26-man squad has been selected by coach Dário Monteiro, for the first 10 day camp in Songo.

“It will serve to adapt and recover from the effort (of wining the COSAFA Championship in Port Elizabeth), and ascertain the condition in which the players have returned from the holidays that we gave them for the festive season,” he said.

After Songo, the camp will move to Nampula, where “we expect to have a pre-competitive internship of 6-7 to seven days in which we will adapt to artificial turf, because in Songo they do not have artificial turf.”

The Mozambican Football Federation also hope to host a four-team tournament involving the Under-20 side and provincial selections from Nampula, Niassa and Zambézia.

“That will give us the opportunity to look for other young players who can join the national team for the camps and for Cup of Nations.”

Nampula, according to Monteiro, also offers similar climatic conditions and high temperatures expected in Mauritania.

Players will be released to return home for 10 days from Jan 21-31 after which another camp will be held, possibly in Mauritania before the kick off of the tournament.