The Zambia Women National Team played beat South Africa 4:3 to take third place at the tournament. Ochumba Lubanji put Zambia in the lead when she scored in the 20th minute. However, later in the second half Holweni Sibulele scored her fifth goal in the competition that led the two teams to penalties.
Sibulele, was named the top goal scorer of the tournament twice in a row, while Zambias Petronela Musole was the Goalkeep of the tournament.
The Copper Queens picked the Fair play award of the competition.
Unbeaten throughout the tournament, The East Africans have collected exactly what they came for. The two Cesafa Champions have claimed the 2021 Cosafa Women’s Cup title in the final against Malawi that ended 1:0 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Lunyamila scored the only and deciding goal in the 64th minute. The Malawian opponets had struggled to get passed their solid defence although having created a fee scoring opportunities for themselves in what was a heavily contested match.
Malawi made it to their first final and left the tournament feeling proud having made it this far, especially after losing their first match to South Africa and going on to knock them out in the Semi Finals.
Tanzania’s Amina Bilali was named the player of the tournament. She captained her team during the tournament.
Malawi made history by eliminating defending Champions South Africa with a 3:2 Victory. Fazila Chembekezo scored the opening goal 38 mins into the first half but 7 minutes later, Sibulele Holweni equalised for the South Africans just before half time.
In the second half, The Scochers took advantage of Banyana Banyana’s struggles at the back and punished them with two more goals scored both by Sabinah Thom in the 74th and 86th minutes respectively.
Holweni scored her second goal in the match when Banyana Banyana was awarded a penalty in the 81st minute, making her the top Goal scorer of the tournament so far.
Earlier in the day, Zambia lost 3:2 on penalties to Tanzania and were knocked out of the tournament. 17 minutes into the match, Lushomo Mweemba scored an own goal that gave the East Africans an early lead. However in the second half, Grace Chanda equalised for the Copper Queens in the 69th minute which led to penalties.
Zambia will play South Africa in the third and Fourth place on Saturday October 9th,2021 before the Final Match between Tanzania and Malawi.
Tanzania beat Botswana 2:0 to become the first team to secure a spot in the semifinals of the tournament on October 2nd, 2021. The East Africans further met South Sudan on October 4th to a 3:0 victory which to them was formality as they already topped their Group B table.
South Africa’s Banyana Banyana were the second to seal their semifinal spot when they defeated Mozambique 3:1 on October 4th. In their previous match against Angola on October 1st, Banyana Banyana had settled for a 1 all draw which put them in a desperate need to win against Mozambique to get into the next round.
Malawi picked up their first win of the tournament when played against Mozambique to a 3:2 Victory on October 1st, in a match where they were 2:0 down in the first 20 minutes of the game. By half time, the Malawian Scochers had equalised and added another in the second half to finally give them a win. On October 4th, the Scochers managed to slide into the Semi final when they beat Angola 2:0.
The Zambian Copper Queens were the fourth team to qualify after winning their match against Uganda on October 5th, 2021, topping Group C. The Copper Queens had won 3:0 in their previous match against Namibia on October 3rd.
The Semi Finals will be played on October 7th. Tanzania take on Zambia, while South Africa meet fellow “Group” A mates Malawi.
Namibia started off the Cosafa Women’s Cup campaign to a shared “point each” with their East African opponets, Uganda. Tough match for both, as neither managed to convert their chances to a goal.
In the second match of the day, the Zambian Copper Queens triumphed over Eswatini. Lubanji Ochumba scored a Hat-trick when she opened up the scoresheet from a Magarate Belemu assist in the 24th minute, who went on to score the second goal in the 58th minute. Ochumba added two more goals in the 75th and 77th minute while Esther Mukwasa scored in the 81st to give the Copper Queens a 5:0 start to the tournament.
Botswana off to an electric start setting the mood for their campaign . Refiloe Tholakele gave the Botswanans an early lead with a free kick and went on to score a Hat-trick by half time, with fellow team mates Lesego Radiakanyo, Mokgabo Thanda, Balothanyi Joanne adding on three goals to make it 6:0 at the break.
In the second half, Masego Montsho sealed it off with the 7th goal to further frustrate their opponents. South Sudan only started playing International Women’s Football in 2019 and have played only a couple of matches since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile Guest nation Tanzania started off with a win against Zimbabwe when they played off to a 3:0 victory. Donisia Minja, Mwanahamisi Shurua and rising star Aisha Masaka were the goal scorers in the match. Zimbabwe had a couple of chances but to no avail.
The Cosafa Women’s Cup 2021 off to an exciting start as Group A teams battle it out on Match Day 1 of the tournament.
The Mozambiquans were the first to find the back of the net through Albertina Pondja in the first half but Zeferina Caupe of Angola managed level just before half time. In the second half, Cidalia Cuta put Mozambique back into the lead in the 78th minute though short lived as Yara Lima equalised for the Angolans.
In the second match of the day, Banyana Banyana started off their campaign with a win. Three minutes into the game, Melinda Kgadiete scored to put the hosts into the lead which was doubled in the 37th minute when Noxolo Cesane got a chance to punish the SheFlames for their mistake at the back.
The Malawians came back into the second half with better confidence and managed to get one back when Wezzi Mvula scored in the 90th minute.
The inaugural 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup set in Lagos Nigeria from the the 15th to the 21st of September 2021 came to an end when Southern African Champions claimed victory against the Nigerian Super Falcons in a 4:2 victory.
The “invitational” Womens Football tournament hosted six national that included Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, Mali and South Africa.
The Super Falcons started their campaign against Mali in a 2:0 victory on match day 1, While Banyana Banyana took on the Black Queens of Ghana in their first encounter where they put up a steller performance with a 3:0 win.
Having last met on December 1st, 2018 in Ghana at the Women’s Cup of Nation’s final when the Nigerians beat their South African opponets 4-3 on penalties, both the Super Falcons and Banyana Banyana knew they had a rivalry to settle.
Michelle Alozie’s own goal put Banyana Banyana into an early lead and later Linda Motlhalo, Gabrielle Salgado and Mamello Makhabane put their names on the scoresheet to comfortably lead Banyana Banyana to glory. The Super Eagles however managed to find the back of the net only twice through Vivian Ikechukwu who scored both goals respectively though unfortunately not enough to claim the title.
The 9th edition of the Cosafa Women’s Cup is set to take place from September 28th to October 9th, 2021 in Gqberha – Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
Unlike before, this year the tournament will host three teams from outside the region with guests being South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Host Nation and defending Champions South Africa have been drawn in Group A alongside Angola, Mozambique and Malawi. While Botswana who lost to South Africa in the last edition are in Group B as well as South Sudan, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Olympic finalists Zambia are in Group C with Uganda, Namibia and Eswatini.
“Only the top team in each pool and the best-placed runner-up advance to the semifinals.” – Cosafa Media
Olympic debutants Zambia were on July 27th, 2021 eliminated from the tournament when they played their last Group stage match against South American side Brazil to a 1:0 loss.
The Copper Queens had a rocky start to the match when Lushomo Mweemba was served a red card for the foul on Ludmilla and were reduced to 10 women in the 12th minute and in addition, forced to make a Goal Keeper change when Ng’ambo Musole came in for Hazel Nali who had sustained an injury.
The Brazilians scored the only goal in the match in the 19th minute from a direct free kick by Andressa to put them in the lead.
The Zambians despite not converting the numerous chances created held on defensively to stop their opponents from scoring more goals.
Zambia who went into the tournament as underdogs, placed in a very tough group performed beyond expectations. They picked up only a point in the tournament but their resilience, tenacity, courage and ambition was admirable
