HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship 2025 in Numbers

The 13th edition of the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship will be staged in Polokwane from February 18 to March 1, once again underlining COSAFA’s commitment to the development of the women’s game in the region.

We round up the key numbers ahead of this year’s tournament.

1 – Tanzania became the first guest nation to lift the trophy when they defeated Malawi 1-0 in the 2021 final. There are no guest nations in this year’s line-up.

2 – Zambia are the defending champions in the competition. They won their maiden HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship title by beating South Africa 1-0 in the 2022 final, and followed that up with victory on penalties against the same opponents in the 2024 edition.

2 – The number of COSAFA nations that qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. South Africa reached the round of 16, while Zambia exited in the group stages on debut but signed off with a victory over Costa Rica.

3 – The number of COSAFA nations that have qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2026. South Africa and Zambia return, while Malawi will make their debut at the continental finals.

3 – There will be three groups at this year’s HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship. Groups A and B each contain four teams, while Group C has three. Only the three group winners and the best-placed runner-up across all pools will advance to the semi-finals.

4 – South Africa coach Dr Desiree Ellis has lifted the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship trophy on four occasions (2017–2020), making her the most successful coach in the competition’s history.

4 – Four nations have reached the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship final but have never lifted the trophy. They are Namibia (2006), Angola (2008), Cameroon (2018) and Botswana (2020).

6 – The number of COSAFA countries that have competed at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in the past: South Africa (14 appearances), Zambia (five), Zimbabwe (four), Angola (two), Botswana (two) and Namibia (one). Malawi will add to that number in 2026. Associate member Réunion also appeared once, in 2000.

7 – South Africa have won the COSAFA Women’s Championship on seven occasions: 2002, 2006, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. They were also finalists in 2011, losing to hosts Zimbabwe, and again in 2022, when they were beaten by Zambia.

8 – South Africa will host the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship for the eighth consecutive time. Zimbabwe hosted the tournament on three previous occasions (2002, 2011 and 2017), while Zambia (2006) and Angola (2008) have each staged the event once.

11 – The number of teams competing at this year’s HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship. Hosts South Africa are the top seeds in Group A and have been drawn with 2023 champions Malawi, Lesotho and Angola. Group B includes defending champions Zambia, along with Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. Group C features Mozambique, Namibia and Madagascar.

12 – South African striker Noko Matlou scored 12 goals at the 2008 COSAFA Women’s Championship, helping her secure the CAF Women’s Footballer of the Year award that season. It remains the highest tally by a single player at one tournament. Rutendo Makore (Zimbabwe, 2017), Racheal Kundananji (Zambia, 2019) and Barbra Banda (Zambia, 2022) have each scored 10 goals in a single edition.

13 – This year’s HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship will be the 13th staging of the regional showpiece since the inaugural tournament in 2002.

17 – The number of goals scored by South Africa in their 17-0 win over Comoros in a Group A match at the 2019 tournament. It remains the biggest victory in the history of the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship.

31 – The number of goals scored by South Africa across their three Group B matches at the 2002 COSAFA Women’s Championship. They defeated Botswana 14-0, Mozambique 13-0 and Swaziland 4-0 on their way to the title, the highest group-stage total ever recorded.

55 – South Africa are the highest-ranked nation in the COSAFA region on the FIFA Women’s World Rankings at number 55. They are also the second-highest ranked team in Africa behind Nigeria (37). Zambia are the next highest COSAFA side at number 64.

75 – The number of goals scored in 21 matches at the 2024 HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship, an average of 3.57 goals per game. The previous two editions both produced 70 goals.