Four COSAFA nations advance in Olympic qualifiers as Malawi run riot
Four COSAFA nations remain in contention for a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games women’s football tournament after Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Angola advanced to the third round of African qualifying following the conclusion of the second-round ties on Tuesday.
Malawi produced the standout performance with a thumping 7-0 victory over neighbours Zimbabwe in Harare, completing a comprehensive 9-0 aggregate success.
Star forward Temwa Chawinga scored a hat-trick, while her sister Tabitha Chawinga was also on target as the Scorchers continued their impressive run of form following their historic appearance in the final of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Chisomo Banda, Asimenye Simwaka and Sarah Mulimbika added the other goals as Malawi overwhelmed their hosts, having taken a 2-0 advantage into the second leg.
The reward for Malawi is a third-round meeting with Kenya, who were equally emphatic in overcoming Seychelles 22-0 on aggregate, winning both legs 11-0.
South Africa also progressed comfortably after defeating Madagascar 3-0 in Bloemfontein on Tuesday to complete a 7-0 aggregate victory.
Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado opened the scoring shortly after halftime before Ronnel Donnelly came off the bench to net twice, taking her tally to five goals across the two matches after her hat-trick in the first leg.
The victory keeps Banyana Banyana on course for a first Olympic appearance since Rio de Janeiro in 2016, having missed the tournaments in Tokyo and Paris.
They will face fellow COSAFA side Angola in the third round after the latter overcame Namibia 2-0 in Luanda on Monday.
Domingas Luís, known as Mila, opened the scoring in the 35th minute before Marlene converted a penalty in the second half. The first leg had ended goalless, with both fixtures staged in Angola.
Zambia also booked their place in the next phase after coming from behind in their tie against Uganda, recording a 4-1 second-leg victory in Ndola to advance 5-3 on aggregate.
The Copper Queens had lost the opening game 2-1 in Kampala but turned the tables on home soil as Natasha Nanyangwe and Eneless Phiri scored in the first half, before captain Barbra Banda netted twice after the break.
Zambia will face Ghana in the third round after the West Africans completed a 10-0 aggregate victory over Mauritius, winning Tuesday’s second leg 7-0 in Accra.
There was disappointment for Botswana, who were eliminated 7-0 on aggregate by Tanzania after suffering a 6-0 defeat in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.
The Mares had lost the first leg 1-0 in Francistown but were unable to contain the Tanzanians in the return fixture.
Comoros also exited the competition following a 5-0 defeat to African champions Nigeria in Ikenne, losing 7-0 on aggregate. The Southern Africans had entered the tie on the back of a remarkable 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan in the opening qualifying round, but found the step up in opposition too great.
Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia and Zimbabwe complete the list of COSAFA sides eliminated at this stage.
The third round of African Olympic qualifying will be played over two legs from 23 February to 6 March 2027, with the winners advancing to the fourth round in October.
There are five qualifying rounds in total, with only two African nations earning places at the women’s football tournament at the Los Angeles Olympic Games, which will be staged from 11-29 July 2028.
