Kitwe has been named as the proposed host venue for the 2017 COSAFA Under-20 Cup where Zambia will stage their title defence of the regional youth tournament crown this December.

Football Association of Zambia Desmond Katongo said in an interview that the eight-nation regional tournament will play at Kitwe’s two major football venues.

“The tournament will be held in Kitwe at Arthur Davies Stadium and Nkana Stadium (Pa Chilata). The preliminary inspection of the venues and facilities will be done this week,” Katongo said.

Arthur Davies is home of six-time league champions Power Dynamos while Nkana Stadium, located just across the Kitwe-Ndola Dual Carriageway, is home of the record 12-time champions Nkana.

Both stadiums have separate training pitches within their facilities.

Zambia beat 2016 hosts South Africa 2-1 in the final on December 16 played at Moruleng Stadium in Rustenberg to collect an unprecedented 11th Cosafa U20 Cup title.

The news comes after Copperbelt fans missed a chance to watch the Zambia Under-20 during the 2017 U20 AFCON when the eventual African champions raced to victory after playing all their matches at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.

Meanwhile, Katongo also revealed that the formality 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B qualifier against Cameroon will also be played on the Copperbelt.

“The match will be played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on November 11,” said Katongo.

The match will see Zambia and Cameroon battle for an honourable second place finish in Group B.

Nigeria qualified to the Russia finals on an unassailable 13 points with a match to spare following their 1-0 home win over Zambia on October 7 in Uyo.

It will be Zambia’s first game at Levy Stadium since their 2-0 victory over Bafana Bafana on August 20 in a 2018 CHAN final round, last leg qualifier.

Zambia and Cameroon are 2nd and 3rd on 7 and 6 points respectively while Algeria are last on 1 point.