Regulations for the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier 2026
The CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier Botswana 2026 will be staged in Gaborone from August 20-29, where the battle for the title of regional queens will be fought.
There will be eight clubs competing this year and here is a quick run-down of the major tournament regulations you need to remember.
THE FORMAT
The eight teams have been drawn into two groups of four teams each. They will meet in a round-robin format, earning three points for a win and one for a draw. The top two sides in each pool advance to the semi-finals.
Only the winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier will earn a place at the continental finals.
Group A contains hosts and defending champions Gaborone United, last year’s runners-up ZESCO Ndola Girls from Zambia, Zimbabwe’s Herentals Queens and Lesotho Defence Force.
Group B has two-time winners Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa, Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs, Costa do Sol from Mozambique and Silver Strikers from Malawi.
DECIDING GROUP PLACES
Should two teams finish on the same number of points in the pool phase, they will be separated by the result of their head-to-head meeting in the first instance.
If this does not provide a conclusion, the next criteria will be goal difference from all group matches and then the greater number of goals scored in all group matches.
If there is still no clear winner, a Fair Play points system, in which the number of yellow and red cards is evaluated, will be used. Failing that, there will be a drawing of lots.
FAIR PLAY
The Fair Play system works as follows. Clubs will get one point for each yellow card shown to a player in the group matches. They will get two points for every red card. Where a player receives a red card in a match, any yellow card received in the same match will not be counted.
If this criterion is needed to separate two teams in the table, the club with the fewest points holds the advantage.
KNOCKOUT STAGE
The winner of Group A will take on the runner-up of Group B in the semi-finals and vice versa.
Only the final will see extra time if teams cannot be separated in 90 minutes. The two semi-finals and third-place play-off will go straight to penalties.
SUSPENSIONS
If a player receives two yellow cards in the tournament, they will be suspended for one match. However, bookings picked up in the group phase fall away ahead of the knockout phase, unless a player receives two yellow cards in the final pool-stage game, in which case the suspension is carried over.
If a player receives a red card in a game, they will also serve a one-match suspension. If a player receives two red cards in the tournament, they will be suspended for the remainder of the competition and play no further part.
SUBSTITUTES
Teams may make up to five substitutions in a game, though these must be limited to three separate occasions within the match, not including halftime.
