A record-breaking Cosafa Women’s Championship gets under way with the opening games in Group A at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, South Africa today.
For the first time all 14 Cosafa nations will compete at the regional showpiece competition, making it the biggest senior women’s competition on the African continent.
Malawi will be the defending champions, the fourth side in as many years to lift the trophy after South Africa, East African guest nation Tanzania and Zambia were also recent victors.
The tournament gets under way when Eswatini play debutantes Seychelles at 14h00, before hosts South Africa face neighbours Namibia at 17h00.
Tickets for all matches at the Cosafa Women’s Championship are free on a first come, first served basis and can be collected from the venues on match-day.
If you cannot get to the stadium, all games are to be streamed on Fifa+, with a dedicated tournament page that can be found here.
For the first time this year, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will be used from the final group games onwards as the licensing of match officials in the region to use the system has allowed for a greater number of matches to feature the technology.
The opening days in Group B take place at the Gelvandale Stadium on Wednesday when Madagascar take on Mauritius at 12h00 and later defending champions Malawi face Botswana in a crunch clash that could have an impact at the top of this pool.
ly the four group winners advance to the semifinals, so there is little room for error.
Groups C and D have three teams each and they both start on Thursday. Perennial contenders Zambia take on Angola at Gelvandale Stadium at 12h00, before in Group D Mozambique are up against Zimbabwe at 15h00.
South Africa have never lost to their three opponents before and edged Namibia 1-0 at the 2022 Cosafa Women’s Championship, and then beat Eswatini 3-0 last year and 5-0 in 2020.
South Africa’s very first international back in 1993 was against Eswatini as they won 14-0. They have not met Seychelles previously in senior women’s competition, with the latter making their debut in the regional championship this year.
Namibia faced Eswatini three times at the Cosafa Women’s Championship between 2018 and 2022 and won on each occasion.
Eswatini have yet to make it past the pool stages since their debut in 2002, while Namibia finished second in 2006 and fourth in 2022. – Cosafa.com
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