# 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship

The 2023 COSAFA Women's Championship was the eleventh edition of the COSAFA Women's Championship, also known as the 2023 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women's Championship for sponsorship purposes, the annual international women's association football championship contested by women's national teams of Southern Africa and organised by COSAFA. The tournament took place from 4 to 15 October 2023 in South Africa. The opening match was won by Eswatini, beating Madagascar at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria on 4 October 2023 and achieving their first COSAFA Women's Championship victory since 2020.
Malawi were crowned 2023 champions after defeating reigning champions Zambia's Copper Queens 2–1 in the final. It was the first time Malawi had won a COSAFA Women's tournament, securing their first major title. Mozambique claimed their first medal at the COSAFA Women's Championship. Malawian player Temwa Chawinga achieved a remarkable double, clinching the Golden Boot with nine goals during the tournament and also claiming the Golden Ball award. Zimbabwe goalkeeper Cynthia Shongwe won the Golden Glove, awarded to the best-performing goalkeeper of the tournament.
Of the twelve teams taking part, Zimbabwe and Madagascar returned to the competition after missing last year's edition. 2011 Champions Zimbabwe advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019. Host and seven times champion South Africa were eliminated in the group stage after they failed to beat Malawi, the first time the team had not made the semi-finals at the tournament.

## Format

In September 2023, during the draw ceremony, the competition format was revealed. The tournament commences with a group stage comprising three groups, each consisting of four teams. The group winners, along with the highest-ranked second-placed team, advance to the knockout stage. The winners of each semifinal proceed to the final, while the losing teams face off in a third-place match to determine the bronze medalist.

## Venues

COSAFA has selected three venues within the province of Gauteng, two cities were selected Pretoria and Johannesburg, one stadium in Pretoria and two stadiums in Johannesburg.
Lucas Moripe Stadium, Pretoria will host the opening match between South Africa and Malawi. The same stadium will host the third-place match and the final on 15 October.
| Pretoria | Johannesburg | Johannesburg | PretoriaJohannesburg |
| Lucas Moripe Stadium | Dobsonville Stadium | UJ Stadium | PretoriaJohannesburg |
| Capacity: 28,900 | Capacity: 24,000 | Capacity: 8,000 | PretoriaJohannesburg |

## Teams
### Participation

Twelve member associations of COSAFA have confirmed their participation in this year's edition. Out of the 12 taking part in this year's edition, 10 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2022. Zimbabwe made a comeback after being absent from last year's edition. while Madagascar whose team had been inactive since 2019, is returning to the international stage.
Note: All appearance statistics exclude the 2008 edition.
| Team | App | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
| Angola | 6th | 2022 | Group stage (2006, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) |
| Botswana | 9th | 2022 | Runners-up (2020) |
| Comoros | 4th | 2022 | Group stage (2019, 2020, 2022) |
| Eswatini | 9th | 2022 | Group stage (2002, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) |
| Lesotho | 8th | 2022 | Group stage (2002, 2006, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022) |
| Madagascar | 4th | 2019 | Group stage (2017, 2018, 2019) |
| Malawi | 10th | 2022 | Runners-up (2021) |
| Mozambique | 9th | 2022 | Fourth place (2002) |
| Namibia | 7th | 2022 | Runners-up (2006) |
| South Africa | 10th | 2022 | Champions (2002, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) |
| Zambia | 10th | 2022 | Champions (2022) |
| Zimbabwe | 9th | 2021 | Champions (2011) |

#### Did not enter

* Mauritius
* Seychelles

### Draw

The final draw took place at the COSAFA Headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 14 September 2023 at 11:00 SAST (UTC+2).
In this edition, three teams were seeded based on their performance in the 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship: Zambia (the 2022 Champions, assigned to B1), South Africa (the 2022 Runners-up, assigned to A1), and Namibia (the 2022 Fourth-place team, assigned to C1). Additionally, two pots were formed for the draw. Pot 1 included the next highest-ranked teams, namely Botswana, Malawi, and Mozambique, while Pot 2 comprised the six remaining lowest-ranked teams, which are Angola, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
| Botswana Malawi Mozambique | Angola Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Zimbabwe |

## Officials

COSAFA's appointed referees and assistant referees have not yet been announced. For the first time in the tournament history Video assistant referees (VAR) will be used from the semi-finals onwards.

### Referees

* Seonyatseng Tshephe
* Letticia Viana
* Nteboheleng Setoko
* Rosa Hanjavola
* Rosalie Rosalie
* Eness Gumbo
* Mercy Kayira
* Maria Rivet
* Antsino Twanyanyukwa
* Vistoria Shangula
* Salima Mukansanga
* Akhona Makalima
* Gloria Sambumba
* Grace Gimo

### Assistant Referees

* Leungo Tsogang
* Mary Njoroge
* Lidwine Rakotozafinord
* Herilalaina Razafitsalama
* Bernadettar Kwimbira
* Windy Rambhoro
* Olinda Couana
* Eveline Augustinus
* Nandipha Menze
* Diana Chikotesha
* Mercy Zulu
* Claris Simango

### Video assistant referees

* Ahmad Heeralall
* Emiliano dos Santos

## Group stage

All times are local, SAST (UTC+2).
* Tie-breaking criteria for group play
* The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:
* Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question (three points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat);
* Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
* Goal difference in all group matches;
* Fair play points in all group matches (only one deduction could be applied to a player in a single match): Yellow card: −1 point;Indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;Direct red card: −4 points;Yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
* Drawing of lots.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Malawi | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 9 | Qualified for knockout stage |
| 2 | South Africa (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | Eswatini | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 3 | |
| 4 | Madagascar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Zambia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Qualified for knockout stage |
| 2 | Mozambique | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Qualified for knockout stage |
| 3 | Angola | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Comoros | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Qualified for knockout stage |
| 2 | Botswana | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | |
| 3 | Namibia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Lesotho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | |

### Ranking of runner-up teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | B | Mozambique | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | A | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | |
| 3 | C | Botswana | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | |

## Knockout stage

* In the knockout stage, extra-time and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide the winner if necessary.

### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 13 October – Pretoria | 13 October – Pretoria |
| Zambia | 1 |
| Zambia | 1 | 15 October – Pretoria | 15 October – Pretoria |
| Zimbabwe | 0 | 15 October – Pretoria | 15 October – Pretoria |
| Zimbabwe | 0 | Zambia | 1 |
| 13 October – Pretoria | 13 October – Pretoria | | Zambia | 1 |
| 13 October – Pretoria | 13 October – Pretoria | Malawi | 2 |
| Malawi | 2 | Malawi | 2 |
| Mozambique | 1 | | |
| Mozambique | 1 | Third Place match | Third Place match |
| | | 15 October – Pretoria | 15 October – Pretoria |
| | | Zimbabwe | 0 |
| | | Mozambique | 2 |

### Final
## Award

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: the Golden Boot (top scorer), Golden Ball (best overall player) and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper)
* Golden Boot
* Temwa Chawinga
* 9 goals
* Golden Ball
* Temwa Chawinga
* Golden Glove
* Cynthia Shongwe
* COSAFA Fair Play Trophy
* Zambia

## Statistics
### Goal scorers

There were 70 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.18 goals per match.
9 goals
* Temwa Chawinga
5 goals
* Thubelihle Shamase
4 goals
* Sarah Jere
3 goals
* Sabinah Thom
* Fridah Kabwe
2 goals
* Sara Luvunga
* Balothanyi Johannes
* Kesegofetse Mochawe
* Leticia Chinyamula
* Asimenye Simwaka
* Deolinda Gove
* Samkelisiwe Selana
1 goal
* Zeferina Caupe
* Matondo Matuvova
* Paulina Nyoca Nsumbo
* Lone Gaofetoge
* Anllaouia Hadhirami Ali
* Roukiat Mohamed Ahamadi
* Sikhanyiso Magagula
* Tenanile Ngcamphalala
* Veronique Raharimalala
* Heliosa Randrianarivelo
* Anajrasoa Velomanantsolo
* Vanessa Chikupila
* Rose Kadzere
* Carolyn Mathyola
* Amélia Banze
* Cina Manuel
* Lúcia Moçambique
* Emília Saene
* Millicent Hikuam
* Ivone Kooper
* Emma Naris
* Khesani Nkuna
* Sphumelele Shamase
* Lushomo Mweemba
* Jacqueline Nkole
* Agness Phiri
* Ennety Chemhere
* Priviledge Mupeti
* Nobukhosi Ncube
* Rudo Neshamba
1 own goal
* Samra Ali (against Angola)
* Bernadetta Mkandawawire (against Mozambique)

### Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:
* Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
* Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expire after the completion of the group stage (yellow card suspensions are not carried forward to any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the tournament:
| Player | Offence(s) | Suspension |
| Vimbai Mharadzi | in Group C vs Lesotho (matchday 1; 6 October) in Group C vs Namibia (matchday 2; 9 October) | Group C vs Botswana (matchday 3; 12 October) |

## Final ranking

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final result |
| 1 | Malawi | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 6 | +13 | 15 | Champions |
| 2 | Zambia | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 10 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Mozambique | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 10 | Third place |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 | Fourth place |
| 5 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 6 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 6 | Botswana | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 7 | Namibia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 8 | Angola | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 9 | Eswatini | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 3 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 10 | Madagascar | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 11 | Lesotho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |
| 12 | Comoros | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 13 | −11 | 0 | Eliminated in group stage |