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RETURNING Zimbabwe will take their place in the Group of Death at the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship that will be hosted in Gauteng from October 4-15, following the draw for the popular annual competition yesterday.
The Mighty Warriors are in Group C along with Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho, and with only the top team in each pool automatically qualifying for the semi-finals, it is likely to be a fiercely fought pool.
Zimbabwe return after missing out in 2022 due to their suspension from FIFA, which has since been lifted.
Hosts South Africa are in Group A and also face a tough task as they meet Malawi, Madagascar and Eswatini. South Africa are record seven-time winners of the competition but have not claimed the title in each of the last two years.
Champions Zambia headline Group B and will take on Mozambique, Angola and Comoros as they look to defend their title.
The best runner-up across the three pools will also advance to the semi-finals.
It will be another exciting instalment of the best regional women’s competition on the continent, with both Zambia and African champions South Africa having excelled at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament will be excellent preparation for the second round of qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with several COSAFA teams still involved in those.
Zambia take on Mali, Namibia face Morocco, Botswana clash with Tanzania and South Africa meet DR Congo in the next round of qualifiers that are set for late October.
South Africa have won seven of the previous 10 COSAFA Women’s Championships played, with Zimbabwe (2011), Tanzania (2021) and Zambia (2022) the other teams to lift the trophy.
THE DRAW
GROUP A: South Africa, Malawi, Madagascar, Eswatini
GROUP B: Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Comoros
GROUP C: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho — Cosafa
Online Reporter