Maqonda Ndlovu
The Brave Gladiators have been handed a tough draw in the 2023 Council of Southern African Football Associations, which took place
yesterday in Boksburg, South Africa.
The 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship will be hosted in Gauteng from 4 to 15 October 2023.
Namibia was drawn in Group C (the group of death) with Botswana, Lesotho, and
returnees Zimbabwe, in what can be considered a reasonably tough group.
The top teams in the group stages will
advance to the semifinals, while the best
runner-up across the pools will also move forward to the knockout rounds.
Reacting to the draw, Gladiators coach Paulus Shipanga said Group C is the toughest group because of its composition.
“There will be no easy game in the group. Botswana is a tough team. We played them last year on their independence day, and we lost 2-1. Zimbabwe is coming back as an unknown book. They might be coming back stronger, depending on how busy they were during their suspension,” he said.
He added that Lesotho cannot be underestimated, as the Gladiators managed to narrowly beat them 2-1 at last year’s Women’s Cosafa Cup.
Shipanga added that Namibia is likely to use local-based players for the tournament because of the fixture load of the Gladiators.
“Before Cosafa, we are playing Gambia, and after Cosafa, we are playing Morocco. I don’t see our foreign-based players being released for a month by their respective clubs. So, we would rather have them for the Olympic and Afcon qualifiers,” he said.
Hosts South Africa are in Group A and also face a tough task as they meet Malawi, Madagascar, and Eswatini.
Defending champions Zambia headline
Group B and will take on Mozambique,
Angola, and the Comoros as they look to
defend their title.
The tournament takes place against the backdrop of both Zambia and African champions South Africa having excelled at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
South Africa has won seven of the previous 10 COSAFA Women’s Championships played, with Zimbabwe (2011), Tanzania (2021), and Zambia (2022). –jrnmarko@gmail.com