Online Reporter
Veronica Gwaze
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HERENTALS Queens say they are unfazed after being drawn into Group A of the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers.
The tournament runs on August 20-29 in Botswana and brings together eight of the top women’s clubs in Southern Africa battling for one regional spot at the CAF Women’s Champions League finals later this year.
The Zimbabwe Women Premiership reigning champions will be expected to shrug off competition from Lesotho Defence Forces, Zambia’s Zesco Ndola Girls and Botswana’s Gaborone United to book a place in the semi-finals.
Only the top teams from each group will progress to the knock-out stages.
Herentals coach Simbarashe Dedza feels the draw comes at the right time when they now tailor-make their preparations for specific opponents drawn to their group.
“It is now time to take the preparations a notch higher by getting to know our opponents and ensuring that our preparations are specific to particular games,” he said.
“We need to gather as much information as we can on the opponents, so that we fine-tune our key aspects of the game, but in some areas, we learn on the go.”
Group B is equally competitive, comprising South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns, Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hot-spurs, Silver Strikers from Malawi, and Mozambique’s Clube de Desportos da Costa do Sol.
While the draw appears to have handed Herentals an easy hurdle to clear the initial stage, Dedza does not see things that way.
“Remember, we are not new in this competition; some of these opponents know us and will want to come and give us a good run,” he said.
“Others will be playing at this level for the first time, and they just want to prove that they have what it takes.
“Every team is tough at this stage. This is a clash of giants where the best from each country attempt to conquer the continent, so no easy opponents, absolutely.” This becomes a third showing for Herentals at the prestigious tournament.
“Vagoni Vebasa,” as they are affectionately known, made it to the semis in their qualifiers debut in 2024 before crashing out in the group stages last year.
Dedza is confident that this could be their year to punch well, putting into perspective their preparations for the showpiece.
Herentals have roped in the services of Egness Tumbare, who rejoins the team on loan from Correctional Queens to boost their defence.
Ex-Mighty Warriors star Kudakwashe Basopo also joins the ZWPSL champions from Eswatini, where she was crowned Ingwenyama Cup top goal scorer after netting 19 goals last year.
“Since the season started, we have been playing in the league with part of our attention on the COSAFA Women’s Champions League qualifiers,” Dedza said.
“We learnt so much in our previous outings, and this time we did business differently . . . without proper preparations, it is difficult to make an impact.
“When we made it to the semis in 2024, we showed the world what we can do while also setting the bar for ourselves, and now we have to break that record.”
