The HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship will be staged in Gqeberha, South Africa from October 22-November 2.
It will feature a record 14 teams, making it the largest women’s international competition on the African continent and we bring you profiles of three of those sides, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe
SOUTH AFRICA
Best finish: Winners (2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
FIFA Ranking: 50
CAF Ranking: 2
Last five tournaments:
2019 – Winners
2020 – Winners
2021 – Fourth
2022 – Runners-Up
2023 – Group Stages
Continental champions South Africa are record seven-time winners of the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship but will be looking to regain the title in 2024 after three years without success.
Since their 2020 triumph they have gone on to be crowned 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations champions and excelled at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in what has been a golden period for the team.
They will again be using this regional championship to expand their playing pool though as they look to the stars of tomorrow with less familiar names.
South Africa have a storied history with the COSAFA Women’s Championship as comfortably the most successful side in the competition.
They stormed to the inaugural 2002 regional title, beating Zimbabwe 2-1 in the final as they won all five of their games, scoring 36 goals in the process. That included huge victories over Botswana (14-0) and Mozambique (13-0) in the pool stages.
It was more of the same in 2006 as they won both group stages games against Lesotho (9-0) and Malawi (3-0), before a 4-1 victory over Zimbabwe in the semifinals. They beat Namibia 3-1 in the final to pick up gold.
A clash of fixtures meant they sent an Under-20 side to the 2008 championships, but still won all of their games, including a 3-1 victory over hosts Angola in the final.
But their run was ended by hosts Zimbabwe in the decider in 2011, leaving them with a record of 26 wins from 29 games in the COSAFA Women’s Championships at that point.
They regained their title in 2017 as wins over Lesotho (3-0) and Namibia (3-1) saw them into the knockout stages, where they came from 3-0 down with 13 minutes remaining to draw 3-3 with Zambia and win on penalties. That set up a final with Zimbabwe, where South Africa ran out 2-1 winners.
They had to do it the hard way again in 2018 as wins over Madagascar (2-1), Botswana (1-0) and Malawi (6-0) in the pool stages were followed by a 2-0 success over East African guest nation Uganda in the semifinals and a 2-1 victory over Central African guests Cameroon in the decider.
A much-changed side took part in 2019 but still snatched the trophy as a tournament record 17-0 win over Comoros Islands was followed by further pool wins over Malawi (3-1) and Madagascar (3-0).
They defeated old enemy Zimbabwe 3-1 in the semifinals, before edging Zambia 1-0 in the decider.
They had a much-changed squad in 2020 but still breezed through their pool with three wins over Angola (2-0), Eswatini (5-0) and Comoros Islands (7-0), which set up a semifinal with Malawi that was won 6-2 after a goalless first half.
They took on Botswana in the final and got some revenge for having been knocked out of the 2020 Olympic Games qualifiers by The Mares as South Africa won 2-1 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The 2021 competition proved a major disappointment as the side beat Malawi in the pool stages and top their pool, but then lost to the SheFlames 3-2 in the semifinals in a shock result.
They played Zambia in the bronze-medal match but were defeated on post-match penalties when the game finished 1-1.
The team were hoping for better in 2022 and did return to the final but lost 1-0 to Zambia in extra-time of the decider, and went out in the Group Stages for the first time in 2023 despite winning two of their three games, losing 4-3 to eventual winners Malawi.
ZAMBIA
Best finish: Winners (2022)
FIFA Ranking: 62
CAF Ranking: 4
Last five tournaments:
2019 – Runners-Up
2020 – Semifinals
2021 – Third
2022 – Winners
2023 – Runners-Up
Zambia continue to impress on the international stage and will be among the favourites for the title in Gqeberha having claimed their maiden HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship victory in 2022 and finished runners-up last year.
They have, in fact, only missed out on the semifinals on one occasion, all the way back in 2011, and have finished third or better in six of the last seven competitions where a bronze medal match has been played.
During their victory two years ago they won all five games, scoring 14 goals and conceding just once as they finally broke their duck.
It is part of a golden age in Zambian women’s football, which has also seen a visit to the Olympic Games twice, third place in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and a debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Zambia played in the inaugural regional tournament in 2002 when wins over Malawi (8-0) and Lesotho (3-1) saw them into the semifinals, where they lost 3-1 to South Africa. They beat Mozambique 1-0 to take the bronze medal.
The side topped their pool in 2006 as they drew 2-2 with Namibia and beat Eswatini 7-0, but this time were edged in a penalty shoot-out in the semifinals by the Namibians after a 1-1 draw. They beat old foes Zimbabwe 2-1 to take the bronze again.
They could not replicate that in 2008 and in 2011 were surprisingly ousted in the pool stages.
They did reach the semifinals in 2017, topping a pool that also included Malawi (6-3), Zimbabwe (1-1) and Madagascar (7-1), but let a 3-0 leading slip against South Africa in the final 13 minutes to lose on penalties.
They then beat East African guest nation Kenya via spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw to seal the bronze medal.
Zambia again breezed through the pool stages in 2018, but came unstuck with a 1-0 loss to Central African guest nation Cameroon in the semifinals, before a loss by the same scoreline to East African guest nation Uganda in the bronze-medal match.
They claimed a team record 15-0 win over Mauritius in their 2019 pool opener, before a 3-2 success over Namibia and 0-0 draw with Botswana ensured they top the pool.
Zambia went on to beat Botswana 4-0 in the semifinals, but were narrow 1-0 losers to South Africa in the decider.
In 2020 they made it out of their pool but then lost 2-1 to Botswana in the semifinals.
Zambia won all three group games in 2021 without conceding a goal, but then came unstuck in the semifinals when they lost on penalties to Tanzania.
Following their victory in 2022 they made the final again a year later, but lost 2-1 to Malawi having seen off Zimbabwe in the semifinals.
ZIMBABWE
Best finish: Winners (2011)
FIFA Ranking: 124
CAF Ranking: 18
Last five COSAFA tournaments:
2019 – Third
2020 – Group Stages
2021 – Group Stages
2022 – Did not enter
2023 – Fourth
Women’s football in Zimbabwe saw a resurgence 13 years ago after the side won the Southern African championship in 2011 and also qualified for the Olympic Games football tournament in Brazil in 2016.
Zimbabwe have always been a competitive side and finally broke their duck in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship with victory in 2011, which ended South Africa’s fine run of success in the tournament.
They reached the final in the inaugural competition in 2002 but lost to South Africa 2-1 in the decider in Harare. They had stormed into the decider with four straight wins in which they scored a staggering 36 goals, including a then competition record 15-0 victory over Lesotho in their opener.
They finished top of their pool again in 2006 after two matches against their only pool opponent, Angola, but came unstuck in the semifinals this time with a 4-1 loss to South Africa. They were beaten to third place by Zambia when they went down 2-1 in the bronze medal match.
The 2008 championship in Angola provided little joy, but they finally lifted the trophy in 2011 on home soil when they proved a dominant force again and beat South Africa 1-0 in the final.
They could not quite repeat that feat in Bulawayo in 2017 as they took the best runner-up spot in their pool with victory over Madagascar (4-0) and draws with Zambia (1-1) and Malawi (3-3), before walloping East African guest nation Kenya 4-0 in the semifinals.
That set up a final against old foes South Africa, but Zimbabwe finished on the losing side by a 2-1 scoreline.
In 2018 the side failed to make it out of their pool despite two wins over Eswatini (3-0) and Namibia (1-0), their fate sealed by a 2-1 loss to East African guest nation Uganda.
They raced through the pool stages in 2019 with wins over Angola (4-1), Mozambique (4-0) and Eswatini (7-0), but South Africa once again proved their nemesis in the semifinals as Zimbabwe lost 3-1.
They did claim the bronze medal though with a 3-0 success over Botswana in the third-place play-off.
The side unexpectedly battled in 2020, losing both of their pool games 1-0 to Tanzania and Botswana, and again in 2021 when they did not make it past the group stages.
The country did not compete in the 2022 event as they were under a FIFA suspension, but returned in 2023 and finished fourth after losing the bronze medal match to Mozambique (0-2).
They earned seven points to top their pool but then were defeated 1-0 by Zambia in the semifinals.
