The HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship will be staged in Gqeberha, South Africa from October 22-November 2.
It will feature a record 14 teams, making it the largest women’s international competition on the African continent and we bring you profiles of three of those sides, Mozambique, Namibia and debutantes Seychelles.
MOZAMBIQUE
Best finish: Third (2023)
FIFA Ranking: 171
CAF Ranking: 38
Last five tournaments:
2019 – Group Stage
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Group Stage
2022 – Group Stage
2023 – Third
Mozambique completed a best ever showing at the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship when they finished third in 2023, taking home the bronze medal.
That followed an unbeaten showing in 2022 that was unfortunately still now enough for a semifinal place, but illustrates the great strides the team has made in the last few years.
Their run to the bronze medal in 2023 came as they finished runners-up in their pool, but were the best of the second-placed side with seven points. They drew 0-0 with Zambia, beat Comoros 3-1 and edged Angola 1-0.
That set up a semifinal with eventual champions Malawi that they lost 2-1, before the side defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 in the third-place play-off.
In 2002 they defeated Mauritius 5-0 and followed that up with draws against Angola and South Africa, both by 1-1 scorelines. It was not enough to finish top of the pool and they were pipped for best runner-up across the three groups
Mozambique appeared at the very first COSAFA Women’s Championship in 2002 and excelled, reaching the semifinals there before they were handed an 11-1 defeat by hosts Zimbabwe in the knockout round.
They have not managed to match that feat of a semifinal place since but can look back with pride on victories over Eswatini (2-0) and Botswana (7-1) in those inaugural championships.
They also competed in the regional showpiece finals in 2011 but managed just a single point in the pool stages.
They had mixed success in 2017, losing to East African guest nation Kenya (2-5), drawing with Eswatini (2-2) and beating Mauritius (3-0). The team beat Lesotho 2-1 at the championships in 2018, but also lost to Zambia (0-3) and Central African guest nation Cameroon (1-8) to bow out at the pool stages.
The side struggled in 2019, losing all three games to finish bottom of their pool. They were defeated 1-3 by Eswatini, before a 0-4 loss to Zimbabwe and a 1-3 reversal against Angola.
The team did not compete in 2020 due to challenges around the COVID-19 pandemic but returned a year later to take their place again.
They opened with a 2-2 draw against Angola, but then narrowly lost to eventual finalists Malawi 3-2 and were beaten 3-1 by South Africa.
Mozambique’s first ever international was a 3-0 win over Lesotho in 1998, with their biggest victory a 9-0 defeat of Namibia in 2006.
NAMIBIA
Best finish: Second (2006)
FIFA Ranking: 125
CAF Ranking: 19
Last five tournaments:
2019 – Group Stage
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Group Stage
2022 – Fourth
2023 – Group Stage
Namibia were semifinalists in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship in 2022 but narrowly lost 1-0 to hosts South Africa, before a 2-1 defeat to Tanzania in the third-place play-off.
It was still their best showing for many a year as they finished runner-up in their pool behind Zambia with two wins against Eswatini (5-1) and Lesotho (2-0).
Namibia has eight previous appearances at the COSAFA Women’s Championships when they turned out in 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
In their first showing in 2006 they claimed an excellent 2-2 draw with Zambia and then thumped Eswatini 6-0 in the pool stages, enough to see them into the semifinals as runners-up in their group.
They gained revenge over Zambia with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory after a 1-1 draw but lost in the final to South Africa when they went down 3-1.
They reached the semifinals again two years later, but this time were ousted at that stage by South Africa, ironically by the same scoreline.
They had less success in 2017, beating Botswana 4-0 in their opener, but then losing 2-1 to Lesotho and once again suffering a 3-1 loss to South Africa to finish bottom of their pool.
The following year they beat Eswatini 4-1, but a defeat to Zimbabwe (0-1) a draw with East African guest nation Uganda (0-1) meant they did not progress to the knockout stages.
They were back again in 2019, but won only one of their three games, an 8-0 hammering of Mauritius. Before that they lost to Botswana (0-1) and Zambia (2-3).
After missing 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they took four points in 2021, drawing with a strong Uganda team 0-0 in their opener, before a 3-0 loss to Zambia and a 1-0 win over Eswatini.
Their semifinal showing in 2022 was followed by a group stage exit in 2023 as they took four points from a win over Lesotho (2-0), draw with Botswana (1-1) and loss to Zimbabwe (0-2).
SEYCHELLES
Best finish: Debut
FIFA Ranking: 170
CAF Ranking: 37
Last five tournaments:
2019 – Did not enter
2020 – Did not enter
2021 – Did not enter
2022 – Did not enter
2023 – Did not enter
Seychelles will make their bow in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship, eager to show the rapid improvement they have made with their team in recent years.
They become the 14th and last COSAFA nation to compete at the regional championship and a welcome addition to the field for 2023.
They are relatively new as a side and only first received a FIFA ranking in June 2022 as they completed the required number of matches.
They have been as high as 160, but currently sit below that at 17th in the world, but have shown themselves to be a competitive unit.
Seychelles has been a competitor in COSAFA women’s junior competitions in the past and their early forays into international football included a junior competition in 2005 against Mauritius and Reunion where matches were 80 minutes.
They have registered a couple of matches in 2024 already, losing 9-0 to Mali and 5-1 to South Sudan after they appointed Singaporean Chris Yip-Au as coach last year.
She was tasked with improving the national side and this years COSAFA Women’s Championship will be a big step forward in that regard.
