Zambia and Zimbabwe HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship profiles

The HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship 2025 will be staged in Polokwane, South Africa from February 18-March 1, 2026. It will feature 11 teams and we bring you profiles of three of those sides, concluding with Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ZAMBIA
Best finish: Winners (2022, 2024)
FIFA Ranking: 64
CAF Ranking: 4
Last five tournaments:
2020 – Semifinals
2021 – Third
2022 – Winners
2023 – Runners-Up
2024 – Winners

Zambia claimed a second HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship victory in three editions when they lifted the 2024 title, which was also their third appearance in the final in a row.

The Copper Queens have, in fact, only missed out on the semi-finals on one occasion, all the way back in 2011.

During their victory in 2022, they won all five games, scoring 14 goals and conceding just once as they finally broke their duck in the regional competition.

It is part of a golden age in Zambian women’s football, which has also seen two appearances at the Olympic Games, third place in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and a debut at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Zambia played in the inaugural regional tournament in 2002 when wins over Malawi (8-0) and Lesotho (3-1) saw them into the semi-finals, where they lost 3-1 to South Africa. They beat Mozambique 1-0 to take the bronze medal.

The side topped their pool in 2006 as they drew 2-2 with Namibia and beat Eswatini 7-0, but this time were edged in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals by the Namibians after a 1-1 draw. They beat old foes Zimbabwe 2-1 to take the bronze again.

They could not replicate that in 2008 and in 2011 were surprisingly ousted in the pool stages.

They did reach the semi-finals in 2017, topping a pool that also included Malawi (6-3), Zimbabwe (1-1) and Madagascar (7-1), but let a 3-0 lead slip against South Africa in the final 13 minutes to lose on penalties.

They then beat East African guest nation Kenya via spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw to seal the bronze medal.

Zambia again breezed through the pool stages in 2018, but came unstuck with a 1-0 loss to Central African guest nation Cameroon in the semi-finals, before a loss by the same scoreline to East African guest nation Uganda in the bronze-medal match.

They claimed a team-record 15-0 win over Mauritius in their 2019 pool opener, before a 3-2 success over Namibia and a 0-0 draw with Botswana ensured they topped the pool.

Zambia went on to beat Botswana 4-0 in the semi-finals, but were narrow 1-0 losers to South Africa in the decider.

In 2020, they made it out of their pool but then lost 2-1 to Botswana in the semi-finals.

Zambia won all three group games in 2021 without conceding a goal, but then came unstuck in the semi-finals when they lost on penalties to Tanzania.

Following their victory in 2022, they made the final again a year later, but lost 2-1 to Malawi after seeing off Zimbabwe in the semi-finals.

They took the crown again in 2024, beating South Africa on penalties in a tense final that finished 0-0 in Gqeberha. Outside of seven-time winners South Africa, Zambia are the only side to lift the trophy more than once.

ZIMBABWE
Best finish: Winners (2011)
FIFA Ranking: 129
CAF Ranking: 20
Last five COSAFA tournaments:
2020 – Group Stages
2021 – Group Stages
2022 – Did not enter
2023 – Fourth
2024 – Group Stages

Women’s football in Zimbabwe saw a resurgence 15 years ago after the side won the Southern African championship and also qualified for the Olympic Games football tournament in Brazil in 2016.

Zimbabwe have always been a competitive side and finally broke their duck in the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship with victory in 2011, which ended South Africa’s fine run of success in the tournament.

They reached the final in the inaugural competition in 2002 but lost to South Africa 2-1 in the decider in Harare. They had stormed into the final with four straight wins in which they scored a staggering 36 goals, including a then-competition record 15-0 victory over Lesotho in their opener.

They finished top of their pool again in 2006 after two matches against their only pool opponent, Angola, but came unstuck in the semi-finals this time with a 4-1 loss to South Africa. They were beaten to third place by Zambia when they went down 2-1 in the bronze-medal match.

The 2008 championship in Angola provided little joy, but they finally lifted the trophy in 2011 on home soil when they proved a dominant force again and beat South Africa 1-0 in the final.

They could not quite repeat that feat in Bulawayo in 2017 as they took the best runners-up spot in their pool with victory over Madagascar (4-0) and draws with Zambia (1-1) and Malawi (3-3), before walloping East African guest nation Kenya 4-0 in the semi-finals.

That set up a final against old foes South Africa, but Zimbabwe finished on the losing side by a 2-1 scoreline.

In 2018, the side failed to make it out of their pool despite two wins over Eswatini (3-0) and Namibia (1-0), their fate sealed by a 2-1 loss to East African guest nation Uganda.

They raced through the pool stages in 2019 with wins over Angola (4-1), Mozambique (4-0) and Eswatini (7-0), but South Africa once again proved their nemesis in the semi-finals as Zimbabwe lost 3-1.

They did claim the bronze medal, though, with a 3-0 success over Botswana in the third-place play-off.

The side unexpectedly battled in 2020, losing both of their pool games 1-0 to Tanzania and Botswana, and again in 2021 when they did not make it past the group stages.

The country did not compete in the 2022 event as they were under FIFA suspension but returned in 2023 and finished fourth after losing the bronze-medal match to Mozambique (0-2).

They earned seven points to top their pool but then were defeated 1-0 by Zambia in the semi-finals.

They were back again in 2024 but could not get out of their three-team pool following a win over Lesotho (3-0) and a 1-0 defeat to Mozambique.