daniel chigunwe
THE Mighty Warriors will take part in next month’s Cosafa Women’s Championship to be staged in Gauteng, South Africa from October 4-15.
Zimbabwe’s acceptance to be among the participants should be good news to the country following the lifting of a Fifa ban.
Zifa Normalisation Committee played its part in ensuring that the country returned to action on the field soonest.
There has been concern over the treatment of women football by previous Zifa leadership.
Zambia are holders of the title and will be defending their maiden championship which they won last year.
But the talking point is Zimbabwe’s participation. The Mighty Warriors missed last year’s competition because of a Fifa suspension
Following the lifting of the ban three months ago, the Mighty Warriors will add a different dimension and will certainly leave South Africa and Zambia with questions.
For the better part of the last 30 years Zimbabwe has played second fiddle to South Africa and this is a renewal of rivalries which should add to the sparkle of the event.
The draw for the tournament will be staged in Boksburg, Gauteng tomorrow morning and will be live on Facebook and YouTube channels.
Along with hosts South Africa, who are record seven-time winners of the regional championship, Zambia head a strong field that also includes Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Angola, Lesotho, Eswatini, Comoros, Mozambique and Madagascar.
The teams will again be split into three groups each containing four sides, with the top nation in each pool advancing to the semifinals. The best runner-up across the pools will also move forward to the knockout rounds.
It will be another exciting installment 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. — ZimpapersSportsHub.cosafa.com.
Online Reporter