Menzi Magubane
Zambian women’s football is hitting the high spots at a rapid pace.
On Saturday night the Green Buffaloes dethroned Mamelodi Sundowns ladies, making history on both the African and world stages in less than a month.
Buffaloes beat Sundowns ladies 6-5 on penalties to become 2022 Cosafa Cup Champions at Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Durban.
This was Buffaloes’ first title outside of Zambia and they have now qualified for this year’s CAF Champions League to be held in Morocco.
The win against Sundowns was sweet revenge for the Zambian side after losing in last year’s Cosafa Cup semi-finals where they were denied a place in the inaugural women’s Champions League.
They have now become the first Zambian team to qualify for the continental competition.
As for Downs, the defeat didn’t dent their chances of defending their Champions League title – they had already qualified for the tournament as champions.
The Buffaloes’ win however will be highly appreciated by their supporters.
In July the Zambian women’s national team qualified for the Fifa Women’s World Cup for the first time. The tournament will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand next year.
Zambia were eliminated in the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations that was held in Morocco.
The four teams that were in the semis booked their spot in the World Cup together with the other two that had to go through play-offs to qualify.
The remaining five teams joining Zambia are Senegal, Banyana Banyana, Morocco, Cameroon and Nigeria. Image source: @TheNamibian
