* Everything is at stake as both will use this tournament to build towards going to the WAfCON 2026 next month with something to boast for
* Malawi defeated South Africa 4-3 in their opening group match in 2023 edition on their way to lifting the title
Maravi Express
The COSAFA Women’s Championship 2025 gets under way in Polokwane on Wednesday, February 18 with the headline fixture being the match between the hosts South Africa and Malawi, which is a potential Group A decider.
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The 11-team tournament is drawn into three groups with A and B having four teams each while C has three. Only one group leader plus the best runner-up will qualify for the semifinals.
Thus the opening match for the hosts and the Scorchers will be one of the most hotly contested in this edition since everything is at stake as both will use this tournament to build towards going to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAfCON) 2026 next month with something to boast for.
There is certainly much intrigue in this Group A since South Africa will aim to add to their record seven victories in this competition, and comes after the Banyana Banyana beat the Scorchers 2-0 each in two FIFA Open Window for friendlies back in April last year.
The two friendlies were organised as Malawi were preparing to face Angola for the WAfCON qualifiers in October from which they triumphed on a 2-0 goal aggregate at Bingu National Stadium after a 0-0 draw away to qualify for their first-ever continental tournament.
The meeting between these two teams on the opening day at the Seshego Stadium has the potential to be a battle for the ages — though it is not to disrespect the other two teams in the group, Angola and Lesotho, though they will certainly not be favourites.
The action between the two sides during the 2023 COSAFA Women’s Championship
Malawi defeated South Africa 4-3 in their opening group match in 2023 edition on their way to lifting the title and they will hope that history repeats itself and that result also proved to be a decider in the qualification to the semifinals.
The teams have clashed six times in the COSAFA Women’s Championship since 2018, with South Africa winning four, but Malawi the last two.
When the draw was concluded on February 5, Scorchers coach Lovemore Fazili said he was confident his side will build on past success against South Africa, saying “it is a good draw.
“Draws are always like that, but what is important is to prepare very well because all the teams in the group are good and we expect tough matches. With good preparation, we believe we can progress to the knockout stages,” he told FAM Media.
Coach Lovemore Fazili
Meanwhile, South Africa have met Angola three times in the COSAFA since 2020 and won twice, to go with a 0-0 draw in 2021.
They have not played Lesotho in the competition in recent times while the Scorchers beat Lesotho 9-0 in the competition in 2020 and Angola 2-0 in 2021, which was their last meeting in the regional showpiece.
Group B has been described as the proverbial ‘Group of Death’, which has defending champions Zambia taking on Botswana, Zimbabwe and eSwatini. Zambia open against Botswana, who appeared at the last WAfCON and will be no pushovers. Botswana beat them 2-1 when they last played in the COSAFA Women’s Championship in 2020, and their last two friendly meetings have both finished 1-1.
Zambia’s only meeting with Zimbabwe at the regional competition over the last decade was in 2023, when they managed a slender 1-0 victory, while they defeated Eswatini 5-0 (2021) and 2-0 (2022).
The defending champions
Zimbabwe have had the better of the clashes against Botswana in recent times, leading the head-to-head at the COSAFA 2-1 with one draw. When they last met in 2021, Zimbabwe were 3-0 winners, while Botswana’s lone success came in 2020 with a 1-0 victory.
Botswana and eSwatini have not clashed in the Southern African championship over the last 15 years, having always been kept apart in the draw up to now.
Group C is another that will be a tough call, with three teams likely of relative strength in Namibia, Madagascar and Mozambique, whose opening game is on Friday between Namibia and Mozambique.
As a three-team pool, there is little margin for error and the two sides in the opening match have not met in the competition in recent times — so there is little history to call on between the sides.
The same goes for Namibia against Madagascar, and Madagascar versus Mozambique, so this is a really rare match-up in the competition. Mozambique have reached the semi-finals in the last two editions so are possibly favourites, while Namibia were in the last four in 2022.
Madagascar have never been past the group stages so may see this as a big chance.—Reporting by COSAFA Media; edited by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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