EN, FR, PR: CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier set for thrilling Gaborone kick-off
The stage is set for the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier Botswana 2026 as eight of Southern Africa’s leading clubs gather in Gaborone from August 20-29 to battle for regional supremacy and the coveted place at the continental finals.
The competition will be staged for the sixth time, with Botswana becoming the third country to host the regional qualifier after South Africa and Malawi. The first five editions have featured 19 clubs from 10 countries, illustrating the continued growth of elite women’s club football across the region.
All matches will be played at GU Stadium, with the top two teams in each of the two groups advancing to the semi-finals. The eventual champions will be COSAFA’s sole qualifier for the CAF Women’s Champions League continental finals later this year.
All games will be streamed live on FIFA+ and COSAFA’s YouTube Channel to a global audience.
If fans would like to purchase tickets to the stadium, they may do so online via the Tickito platform, or from the Botswana Football Association offices at Lekidi Football Centre or the Gaborone United Stadium on matchdays.
There will be no gentle introduction when Group A gets the tournament under way on Thursday as last year’s runners-up ZESCO Ndola Girls of Zambia face Zimbabwe’s Herentals Queens at 12h00 CAT (10h00 GMT).
ZESCO were one of the revelations of the 2025 tournament, reaching the final on debut after famously defeating Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 in the semi-finals. They eventually lost 4-3 on penalties to Gaborone United following a 1-1 draw in the decider.
They travel to Botswana as back-to-back Zambia Women’s Super League champions and with unfinished business after coming so close to the trophy last year.
Herentals Queens are appearing for a third successive year and have already shown they can compete with the region’s best. They reached the semi-finals on debut in 2024 and narrowly missed out on the last four in 2025, making their opening meeting with ZESCO a potentially crucial contest in a highly competitive pool.
Hosts and defending champions Gaborone United will then begin their title defence against Lesotho Defence Force at 15h00 (13h00 GMT).
United have reached the final in both of their previous appearances, losing a marathon penalty shoot-out to University of the Western Cape in 2024 before going one better last year. Their 2025 triumph included a record 10-1 victory over Kick4Life and a dramatic shoot-out success against ZESCO in the final.
Lesotho Defence Force return for their third appearance and first since 2023. They will be seeking to make history of their own by advancing beyond the group stages for the first time.
Group B takes centre stage on Friday, with Mozambique’s Costa do Sol meeting debutantes Silver Strikers of Malawi at 12h00.
Costa do Sol are seasoned campaigners who finished third in 2023 and returned to the semi-finals in 2025, where they were beaten by eventual champions Gaborone United.
Silver Strikers arrive with momentum after winning the inaugural National Bank of Malawi Women’s Premiership, having claimed 16 victories from 18 matches. Their attacking threat includes Deborah Henry, who scored 23 league goals in 18 appearances and was named both NBM Women’s Premiership Player of the Season and Malawi Women’s Player of the Year.
Friday’s second game provides another intriguing clash as two-time regional champions Mamelodi Sundowns face Eswatini debutantes Nsingizini Hotspurs at 15h00.
Sundowns won the COSAFA title in 2021 and 2023 and are also two-time CAF Women’s Champions League winners. Their defeat to ZESCO in last year’s semi-finals remains their only loss in ordinary time in the history of the regional qualifier, underlining their formidable record in the competition.
Nsingizini will have nothing to lose on debut after ending Young Buffaloes’ long dominance of the Eswatini Women Football League. Their title success earned them a first appearance at the regional qualifier and the immediate challenge of testing themselves against one of African women’s club football’s established heavyweights.
The 2025 qualifier produced a competition-record 63 goals in 15 matches and another action-packed tournament is anticipated as established champions, emerging forces and ambitious debutants converge on Gaborone.
OPENING FIXTURES
All games at the Gaborone United Stadium. All times CAT (GMT+2).
Thursday, August 20 – Group A
12h00: ZESCO Ndola Girls vs Herentals Queens
15h00: Gaborone United vs Lesotho Defence Force
Friday, August 21 – Group B
12h00: Costa do Sol vs Silver Strikers
15h00: Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies vs Nsingizini Hotspurs
De l’intensité et du suspense attendus
Le décor est planté pour les éliminatoires de la Ligue des champions féminine de la CAF | COSAFA Botswana 2026, alors que huit des principaux clubs d’Afrique australe se rassemblent à Gaborone du 20 au 29 août pour se disputer la suprématie régionale et la place tant convoitée pour les finales continentales. La compétition sera organisée pour la sixième fois, le Botswana devenant le troisième pays à accueillir les éliminatoires régionales après l’Afrique du Sud et le Malawi. Les cinq premières éditions ont vu défiler 19 clubs de 10 pays, illustrant la croissance continue du football de club féminin d’élite à travers la région.
Tous les matchs se joueront au GU Stadium, les deux meilleures équipes de chacun des deux groupes se qualifiant pour les demi-finales. Le champion final sera l’unique qualifié de la COSAFA pour les finales continentales de la Ligue des champions féminine de la CAF plus tard cette année. Tous les matchs seront diffusés en direct sur FIFA+ et sur la chaîne YouTube de la COSAFA pour un public mondial. Si les supporters souhaitent acheter des billets pour le stade, ils peuvent le faire en ligne via la plateforme Tickito, ou auprès des bureaux de la Fédération de football du Botswana au Lekidi Football Centre ou au Gaborone United Stadium les jours de match.
Il n’y aura pas d’introduction en douceur lorsque le groupe A lancera le tournoi jeudi, puisque les finalistes de l’année dernière, les ZESCO Ndola Girls de Zambie, affronteront les Herentals Queens du Zimbabwe à 12h00 CAT (10h00 GMT). ZESCO a été l’une des révélations du tournoi 2025, atteignant la finale pour ses débuts après avoir battu les Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 en demi-finale. Elles se sont finalement inclinées 4-3 aux tirs au but face à Gaborone United après un match nul 1-1 lors de la finale. Elles se déplacent au Botswana en tant que doubles championnes en titre de la Super League féminine de Zambie et avec un sentiment de revanche après avoir frôlé le trophée l’année dernière.
Les Herentals Queens participent pour la troisième année consécutive et ont déjà montré qu’elles pouvaient rivaliser avec les meilleures de la région. Elles ont atteint les demi-finales pour leurs débuts en 2024 et ont manqué de peu le dernier carré en 2025, faisant de leur rencontre d’ouverture contre ZESCO un affrontement potentiellement crucial dans une poule très compétitive.
Les hôtes et championnes en titre de Gaborone United commenceront ensuite la défense de leur titre contre la Lesotho Defence Force à 15h00 (13h00 GMT). United a atteint la finale lors de ses deux précédentes apparitions, perdant une séance de tirs au but marathon contre l’Université du Western Cape en 2024 avant de faire encore mieux l’année dernière. Leur triomphe en 2025 a inclus une victoire record de 10-1 contre Kick4Life et un succès dramatique aux tirs au but contre ZESCO en finale. La Lesotho Defence Force revient pour sa troisième participation, la première depuis 2023. Elles chercheront à marquer l’histoire à leur tour en franchissant la phase de groupes pour la première fois.
Le groupe B sera à l’honneur vendredi, avec le club mozambicain de Costa do Sol qui affrontera les débutantes de Silver Strikers du Malawi à 12h00. Costa do Sol est une équipe expérimentée qui a terminé troisième en 2023 et a retrouvé les demi-finales en 2025, où elle a été battue par les futures championnes de Gaborone United. Les Silver Strikers arrivent avec une bonne dynamique après avoir remporté la première édition de la National Bank of Malawi Women’s Premiership, avec 16 victoires en 18 matchs. Leur force offensive repose notamment sur Deborah Henry, qui a marqué 23 buts en championnat en 18 apparitions et a été nommée à la fois joueuse de la saison de la NBM Women’s Premiership et joueuse de l’année du Malawi.
Gaborone acende a chama das “Rainhas”!
Gaborone acende amanhã a chama da quinta edição das Eliminatórias Regionais da COSAFA para a Liga dos Campeões Feminina da CAF. De 20 a 29 de Agosto, o National Stadium de Gaborone será palco do torneio que decide quem representa a África Austral na a competição de clubes mais importante do continente. É a primeira vez na história da prova que Botswana acolhe o certame — um passo natural para uma nação que, em 2025 viu o Gaborone United Ladies FC conquistar o título regional em Joanesburgo e que agora quer repetir a proeza em casa.
Oito equipas dividem-se em dois grupos de quatro. Na fase de grupos, todos defrontam todos. Apenas os dois primeiros de cada grupo avançam para as meias-finais, a 27 de Agosto. Os primeiros defrontam os segundos. A final está marcada para 29 de Agosto, e só a vencedora garante o passaporte para a fase final da Liga dos Campeões Feminina da CAF de 2026. Nas meias-finais e no jogo pelo terceiro lugar, empate leva diretamente às grandes penalidades. Na final, há prolongamento e, se necessário, desempate da marca dos onze metros.
O Grupo A reúne o Gaborone United, campeão em título e anfitrião, o LDF FC do Lesoto, as vice-campeãs ZESCO Ndola Girls da Zâmbia e as Herentals Queens do Zimbabwe. As botswanenses confirmam o estatuto conquistado em 2025, ao baterem as zambianas nas grandes penalidades após empate 1-1.
O Grupo B juntou o Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC da África do Sul, clube mais titulado, com dois troféus regionais e dois continentais, as estreantes Nsingizini Hotspurs de Eswatini, o CD Costa do Sol de Moçambique e as também estreantes Silver Strikers Ladies do Malawi. As sul-africanas chegam com fome de vitória absoluta.
A competição arranca amanhã, 20 de Agosto, com o Grupo A em ação: às 12h00, as ZESCO Ndola Girls defrontam as Herentals Queens, e às 15h00, o Gaborone United entra em campo frente ao LDF FC. A 21 de Agosto, o Grupo B estreia-se: às 12h00, o CD Costa do Sol mede forças com as Silver Strikers Ladies, e às 15h00, o Mamelodi Sundowns recebe as Nsingizini Hotspurs. A segunda jornada decorre a 22 e 23 de Agosto, e a terceira e última a 24 e 25 de agosto. As partidas começam às 12h00 ou 15h00, hora local.
Desde a estreia em 2021, em Durban, as Eliminatórias da COSAFA refletem a crescente competitividade do futebol feminino de clubes na África Austral. O Mamelodi Sundowns inaugurou o rol de vencedores em 2021. Em 2022, as Green Buffaloes da Zâmbia quebraram o domínio sul-africano. As sul-africanas recuperaram o troféu em 2023. Em 2024, a competição mudou-se para o Malawi, e a University of the Western Cape sagrou-se campeã. A edição de 2025, em Joanesburgo, marcou a primeira conquista das representantes do Botswana, com o Gaborone United a superar o ZESCO Ndola Girls nas grandes penalidades. Foi também nesta edição que se registou a maior goleada da história: 10-1 do Gaborone United ao Kick4Life do Lesoto. Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse marcou sete golos — recorde individual de sempre.
Para além do título regional, está em jogo o único lugar da COSAFA na fase final da Liga dos Campeões Feminina da CAF. Desde a criação da competição continental em 2021, as representantes da África Austral deixaram a sua marca: o Mamelodi Sundowns venceu a primeira edição continental em 2021 e voltou a conquistá-la em 2023. Agora, em Gaborone, oito equipas partilham o mesmo grande sonho. Uns querem confirmar estatuto, outros escrever o primeiro capítulo de uma história que ainda está no início. O futebol feminino da África Austral não para de crescer, e estas eliminatórias são, mais uma vez, o melhor testemunho disso mesmo. A bola começa a rolar amanhã.
