The ninth edition of the COSAFA Women’s Championship will kick-off in Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday with South Africa seeking to claim an unprecedented fifth title in a row and the rest of the field desperate to end their reign.
Banyana Banyana will be the team to beat, even if they come into the competition with a largely home-based squad as the competition falls outside of the FIFA international window.
The same is true for many sides, who get to test the depth of their squads and build international experience for the challenges ahead, not least the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that are scheduled to take place next month.
These matches will be vital for coaches to fine-tune their options, with some national teams having barely been in action since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic 18 months ago.
South Africa are in Group A and open their campaign against Malawi on Tuesday (kick-off 15h30), a repeat of their semifinal last year when they home side ran out 6-2 winners, though the contest was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
These two sides will definitely have an eye on the trophy, but with only the top team in each pool guaranteed of advancing to the semifinals, this will be an early test of their mettle.
Before that, Angola, and Mozambique (12h00) get the competition under way in a battle between the lusophone nations.
The first game in a competition is often the most important as it sets the tone for the remainder of the pool play and for the victor, if there is to be one, it will be a massive boost.
Group B will get under way on Wednesday when Botswana take on East African guest nation South Sudan (12h00), who are coached by former Banyana analyst Shilene Booysen.
South Sudan have only been playing international football since 2019 and are desperate for experience and will bring their own style to the competition.
Botswana were beaten finalists in 2020 and will be eager to go one better this time round.
The game will be followed later in the day by the battle between another guest nation, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe (15h30). These two sides also met in their opening game in 2020 with Tanzania edging the contest 1-0.
Group C will kick-off on Thursday as Namibia take on the third guests at this year’s events, Uganda (12h00). That will be followed by a clash between 2019 finalists Zambia and Eswatini (15h30).
The best runners-up between the three groups will join the pool winners in the semifinals, meaning there is little margin for error.
Matches on Tuesday and Wednesday will be played at the iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium before games switch to the Madibaz Stadium and return to the 2010 World Cup venue later on.
South Africa won the first three editions of the regional showpiece competition in 2002, 2006 and 2008, before Zimbabwe claimed victory on home soil in 2011.
The tournament had a brief hiatus until it was re-started in 2017 and has been played annually since, with South Africa victorious on each occasion.
All matches will be streamed live on www.cosafa.tv and available on SuperSport, with selected games to be shown on SABC.
You can also follow the action at www.cosafa.com, and our official Twitter and Facebook pages.
L’Afrique du Sud remet sa couronne en jeu
Toute une région et même un continent vibrera au rythme de la COSAFA Women’s Senior Championship au cours des prochains 10 jours. Malgré un contexte rendu difficile par la pandémie du coronavirus, la COSAFA a tenu le pari d’organiser cette compétition dont le coup d’envoi est programmé pour le 28 septembre. Elle durera jusqu’au 9 octobre.
Alors que plusieurs tournois ont été mis sous éteignoir partout à travers le monde, la COSAFA fait figure d’exception. Elle a même montré la voie en remodelant son calendrier l’an dernier au plus fort de l’épidémie. Forte de cette expérience, l’instance du football en Afrique australe remet ça. Elle en est déjà à son troisième tournoi depuis le début de l’année après la COSAFA Cup et la COSAFA Women’s Champions League.
Pour revenir au tournoi de ce mardi, la joute inaugurale mettra aux prises l’Angola au Mozambique. Un match comptant pour la première journée du groupe A et qui débutera à midi. A 15h30, l’Afrique du Sud, vainqueur de l’édition précédente, remettra son titre en jeu face au Malawi. Les Banyana Banyana ont remporté cette compétition cinq fois de suite et partiront une nouvelle fois favorites.
Le Malawi a également quelques armes. Ses représentantes espèrent une étincelle au cours de la compétition. Elles ont eu droit à un camp d’entraînement très structuré avant leur arrivée et vendront chèrement leur peau. En fait, les deux adversaires se connaissent bien pour s’être affrontés l’an dernier en demi-finale.
De la revanche dans l’air
Les Flames du Malawi s’étaient bien battues en première période où elles avaient tenus en échec l’Afrique du Sud. Mais la seconde période a, ensuite, nettement tourné en faveur des Sud-Africaines qui se sont finalement imposées 6-2.
Un peu plus tôt, nous auront donc droit à un duel lusophone entre l’Angola et le Mozambique. L’Angola était absent de la précédente édition alors que son passage en 2019 ne restera pas dans les annales. Les Antilopes noires n’avaient obtenu qu’un succès en phase de groupe. Elles espèrent bien démarrer face au Mozambique.
Comme les Angolaises, le Mozambique était absente de la précédente édition et comme son adversaire de ce mardi, les Mambinhas n’ont pas été excellente en 2019 en perdant tous leur match en phase de poule. Elles avaient même courbé l’échine devant l’Angola justement (3-1). Il y aura donc de la revanche dans l’air.
A noter que 12 équipes s’alignent dans ce tournoi. Le premier de chaque groupe passe en demi-finale. Elles seront accompagnées par la deuxième meilleure équipe sur l’ensemble des trois groupes.
Gqeberha é o palco delas!
A província sul-africana de Nelson Mandela Bay, também conhecida por Port Elizabeth, eBay ou simplesmente Gqeberha, volta a ser palco de mais uma edição do Campeonato Sénior Feminino de Futebol do Conselho das Associações de Futebol da África Austral (COSAFA), que arranca esta terça-feira, devendo terminar no dia 9 de Outubro.
O desenvolvimento do futebol feminino tem crescido a olhos vistos e, este facto não têm passado despercebido a muitos. A disputar-se pelo quarto ano consecutivo em Gqeberha, a COSAFA não tem poupado esforços para tornar possível a realização deste evento. Por via disso, esta tem recebido um forte incentivo por parte da Federação Internacional de Futebol (FIFA) e da Confederação Africana de Futebol por contribuir para a afirmação e respeito da mulher no futebol.
Com efeito, as selecções de Moçambique e Angola irão abrir o Torneio da COSAFA, no majestoso Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, pelas 12:00 horas, para depois, ainda no mesmo local, as Banyana Banyana, nome de guerra da África do Sul medirem forças com o Malawi, quando forem 15.30 horas. Estas equipas estão inseridas no Grupo “A” deste certame.
Na segunda jornada, Moçambique terá pela frente o Malawi, no dia 1 de Outubro, no Nelson Mandela University Stadium, quando forem 12:00 horas. As representantes moçambicanas enceram a fase de grupos com a anfitriã e campeã em título, África do Sul, no dia 4 de Outubro, pelas 15:30 horas no Estádio do Nelson Mandela Bay.
O Botswana, vice-campeã, por seu turno, encabeça o Grupo “B”, onde estão as selecções do Zimbabwe e as convidadas Tanzania e Sudão do Sul e, por fim, no Grupo “C” perfilam as selecções da Namíbia, Eswatini, Uganda e o cabeça-de-série Zâmbia, esta que recentemente participou nos Jogos Olímpicos realizados em Tóquio-2020.
Entretanto, já na quarta-feira, o Botswana têm o encontro marcado com a convidada selecção do Sudão do Sul, às 12.00 horas, no Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, enquanto que a Tanzania, outra convidada, receberá a renovada formação do Zimbabwe, às 15.30 horas, no mesmo palco.
O Grupo “C” só entra em cena no dia 30 de Setembro, com aliciantes embates que irá colocar frente-a-frente a Namíbia-Uganda (12.00 horas) e Zâmbia-Eswatini (15.30), no Nelson Mandela University Stadium, localizado no Campus universitário de uma das maiores instituições de ensino de referência de África.
Segundo o regulamento da prova, as 12 equipas serão divididas em três grupos, cada um com quatro e apenas a melhor classificada de cada grupo avançará para as meias-finais, juntamente com o segundo melhor classificado de todos os grupos.
Anotar que os jogos serão transmitidos no canal desportivo SuperSport em toda a África, e transmitidos no COSAFA.TV para o mundo através do sítio www.cosafa.com.
