CWCL 2025: Young Buffaloes and Zesco Ndola Girls Profiles
The CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifiers will be played in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 22-31.
There are a record 10 teams competing this year, up from the previous best year of eight, as more and more sides meet the stringent licensing regulations of CAF to take part.
Here are the profiles of two of the teams to take part, Young Buffaloes of Eswatini and debutantes Zesco Ndola Girls from Zambia.
YOUNG BUFFALOES RETURN FOR FOURTH SHOWING AT COSAFA QUALIFIERS
Young Buffaloes return for a fourth year running at the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier that will be staged in Johannesburg.
They will join Green Buffaloes from Zambia and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa as the only sides to have featured in four of the regional qualifiers.
And they have certainly made progress, after two group stage exits in 2022 and 2023, they reached the semifinals last year, though fell 6-0 to the University of the Western Cape Ladies in the last-4.
But the tournament in Malawi provided them with their first win and clean sheet in the competition as they defeated UD Lichinga from Mozambique 4-0.
The experienced of repeated tournament appearances will stand them in good stead as they go into this year’s qualifiers.
They are in Group B along with Gaborone United Ladies from Botswana and debutantes Kick4Life of Lesotho.
They were also in Group B on debut in 2022 along with eventual champions Green Buffaloes from Zambia, who beat them 4-0. They then had a shoot-out for second place in the three-team pool with Olympique de Moroni of the Comoros but went down 1-0.
They lost their opener 2-1 to Costa do Sol in 2023 before a 4-0 loss to eventual champions Mamelodi Sundowns. But Buffaloes ended on a high when they met Olympique de Moroni again and this time came away with a 3-3 draw, their first point in the competition.
Young Buffaloes have been hugely dominant in their domestic league – when they won the championship in 2022, they did so by winning all of their 24 games, scoring 221 goals and not conceding a single one!
TOURNAMENT FINISHES
2024 – Semifinals
2023 – Group Stage
2022 – Group Stage
2021 – Did not qualify
| DATE | VENUE | OPPONENT | ROUND | RES | GOALSCORERS |
| 7-8-22 | Durban | Green Buffaloes | Group Stage | 0-4 | – |
| 11-8-22 | Durban | Olympique de Moroni | Group Stage | 0-1 | – |
| 31-8-23 | Durban | Costa do Sol | Group Stage | 1-2 | Ngcamphalala |
| 2-9-23 | Durban | Mamelodi Sundowns | Group Stage | 0-4 | |
| 4-9-23 | Durban | Olympique de Moroni | Group Stage | 3-3 | N. Dlamini, Ngcamphalala, Dube |
| 16-8-24 | Blantyre | Ascent Academy | Group Stage | 1-2 | Ngcamphalala |
| 18-8-24 | Blantyre | Gaborone United | Group Stage | 1-1 | Ngcamphalala |
| 20-8-24 | Blantyre | UD Lichinga | Group Stage | 4-0 | Ndlovu 3, Nkambule |
| 22-8-24 | Blantyre | UWC Ladies | Semifinals | 0-6 | – |
GOALSCORERS
4 goals – Ngcamphalala
3 – Ndlovu
1 – Dlamini, Dube, Nkambule
HATTRICKS
Ndlovu vs UD Lichinga (2024)
RECORDS AND SEQUENCES
Biggest win: 4-0 vs UD Lichinga (2024)
Heaviest defeat: 0-6 vs UWC Ladies (2024)
Highest scoring match: 3-3 vs Olympique de Moroni (2023); 0-6 vs UWC Ladies (2024)
Longest winning run: 1 game (20-08-24 to 22-08-24)
Longest losing run: 4 games (from 07-08-22 – 02-09-23)
Longest unbeaten run: 2 games (18-8-24 – 20-08-24)
Longest run without a win: 7 games (from 07-08-22 – 18-08-24)
Total clean sheets: 1 matches (11%)
Total failed to score: 4 matches (44%)
Most goals scored in a competition: 6 (2024)
Most goals conceded in a competition: 9 (2023, 2024)
Group stage wins: 1 out of 8 (13%)
Knockout stage wins: 0 out of 1 (0%)
ZESCO NDOLA GIRLS SET FOR REGIONAL DEBUT IN JOHANNESBURG
Zesco Ndola Girls will become the second team from Zambia to compete at the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifiers when they take part in this year’s competition.
Green Buffaloes had represented the country in the previous four editions and are past champions after lifting the trophy in the 2022 when they beat Mamelodi Sundowns on penalties in a final that ended 0-0.
Zesco have been drawn in Group A at this year’s championship, a real baptism of fire alongside Sundowns, fellow debutantes Beauties FC from Namibia and Ntopwa FC from Malawi.
The rise of the Zambian national side in recent years is in part due to the strong domestic league, and Buffaloes and Zesco have been part of that.
Zesco were crowned Zambian champions back in May when they defeated Trident Queens 3-1.
They went through the 34-game season undefeated, winning 31 of those and drawing three to show they were the undisputed number one team in the country.
It ended the four-year trophy run of Buffaloes and was in large part thanks to the scoring prowess of Penelope Mulubwa, who managed 35 goals through the campaign.
