The revised fixture list for the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship is out with the tournament in Nelson Mandela Bay to start two weeks later than originally scheduled and run from September 28 to October 9.
There are no further changes to the logistics, with the same number of teams to take part, but the competition will now kick-off with a Group A meeting between Angola and Mozambique on Sept. 28.
That will be followed later in the day with a crunch clash between hosts South Africa and Malawi as Banyana Banyana seek a fifth successive title in the regional showpiece competition.
Group B starts on Sept. 29 as Botswana take on South Sudan, while another guest nation, Tanzania, open their competition against Zimbabwe later in the day.
Namibia and guests Uganda open Group C on Sept. 30, before Zambia clash with Eswatini.
The group stages will conclude on Oct. 5, with only the top team in each pool advancing to the semifinals along with the best-placed runner-up.
The semifinals will be played on Oct. 7 and see the winner of Group B take on the top team in Group C, while the winner of Group A meets the best runner-up.
The final and third-place play-off will be played on Oct. 9.
The competition will be perfect preparation for the start of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that are scheduled to be played in the FIFA international window that runs from Oct. 18-26.
South Africa have won the last four COSAFA Women’s Championships, beating Botswana 2-1 in last year’s final. Nelson Mandela Bay will also be hosting the competition for the fourth year in a row.
