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 and achieving their first COSAFA Women's Championship victory since 2020.
Malawi were crowned champions after defeating holders Zambia 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, finishing third. 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 winners Zimbabwe advanced to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019. Host and seven-time champion South Africa were eliminated in the group stage after they failed to beat Malawi, the first time the team failed to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
Format In September 2023, during the draw ceremony, the competition format was revealed. The tournament commenced with a group stage comprising three groups, each consisting of four teams. The group winners, along with the highest-ranked second-placed team, advanced to the knockout stage. The winners of each semi-final proceeded to the final, while the losing teams faced off in a third-place match to determine the bronze medalist.
Venues COSAFA selected three venues within the province of Gauteng, in two cities: one stadium in Pretoria, and two stadiums in Johannesburg.
Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria hosted the opening match between South Africa and Malawi. The same stadium also hosted the third-place match and the final on 15 October.
PretoriaJohannesburgLucas Moripe StadiumDobsonville StadiumUJ Stadium Capacity: 28,900 Capacity: 24,000 Capacity: 8,000
Teams Participation Twelve member associations of COSAFA confirmed their participation in this year's edition. Out of the twelve participants, ten 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, also returned to the international stage.
TeamLastappearancePrevious best performance 6th 2022 9th 2022 4th 2022 9th 2022 8th 2022 4th 2019 10th 2022 9th 2022 7th 2022 10th 2022 10th 2022 9th 2021 Did not enter
Squads
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 were Angola, Comoros, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Pot 1 Pot 2
Officials For the first time in tournament history, Video assistant referees (VAR) were used from the semi-finals onwards.
Referees
Seonyatseng Tshephe Letticia VianaMain referee and Video assistant referee 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 ChikoteshaAssistant referee and Video assistant referee 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 playThe 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): Drawing of lots. Group A
Group B
Group C
Ranking of runner-up teams
Knockout stage In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
Bracket
Semi-finals
Third-place match
Final
Awards 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 Chawinga9 goalsGolden Ball Temwa ChawingaGolden Glove Cynthia ShongweCOSAFA Fair Play Trophy
Statistics Goalscorers
Discipline A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:
Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences) Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expired after the completion of the group stage (yellow card suspensions were 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
External links Official website
References