COSAFA Women's Champions League Raises The Standards Among Clubs
The TOTALENERGIES CAF Women’s Champions League l COSAFA Qualifier from August 26 to September 4 is an exciting new entry into the calendar for the region and will raise the standard of club football in more ways than one. The draw on Thursday saw South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies seeded in Group A, where they will take on Lesotho Defence Force, Double Action Ladies from Botswana, and Eswatini’s Manzini Wanderers.
Zambian side Green Buffaloes are the seeds in the three-team Group B and have been drawn alongside Black Rhinos Queens of Zimbabwe and TURA Magic from Namibia. The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals.
But aside from the action on the pitch, COSAFA has also been raising the bar by introducing club licensing that means teams have to meet a minimum standard. It forced Mozambican club Costa do Sol to have to withdraw.
“Quite a few of the participants here are the ladies’ section of the men’s teams, so the club as a whole will have knowledge of the club licensing regulations,” COSAFA General Secretary Sue Destomabes told The COSAFA Show. “Being a first time for women’s clubs, the regulations have been lowered because we do have to give ladies stand-alone teams time to get themselves there.” Destombes says the regulations have been approved by the Confederation of African Football to raise the standards of the women’s game.
