England’s Arsenal (UEFA), Gotham FC from the USA (CONCACAF), China’s Wuhan Jiangda (AFC) and Auckland United of New Zealand (OFC) have already booked their spots at the new FIFA Women’s Champions Cup following victories in their respective confederations.
Two slots remain open and these will be filled when the winners of the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina in October as well as the CAF Women’s Champion League in November are crowned.
FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026 qualification timeline: continental club competition finals:
OFC Women’s Champions League:
- 17 May 2025
- AUCKLAND UNITED, NEW ZEALAND
AFC Women’s Champions League:
- 24 May 2025
- Wuhan Jiangda, China
Concacaf W Champions Cup:
- 24 May 2025
- Gotham FC, USA
UEFA Women’s Champions League:
- 24 May 2025
- Arsenal, England
CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina:
- 18 October 2025
- (TBD)
CAF Women’s Champions League:
- 23 November 2025
- (TBD)
“The FIFA Women’s Champions Cup brings together the six continental club champions from the full season preceding the tournament to compete for a coveted new trophy, enhancing the competitive landscape in the women’s game and raising its international profile. The FIFA Women’s Champions Cup will be held every non-FIFA Women’s Club World Cup year,” said FIFA in a statement earlier this year.
Now that is looking into the future, on a global scale.
To get to the continental level, teams have to win in their regional tournaments as will be the case when 10 COSAFA clubs go into battle from Friday, 22 August 2025 in Johannesburg.
While the eye will be on lifting the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA qualifier trophy at the AW Muller Stadium in South Africa, the bigger picture is claiming the continental title that follows and ultimately a spot in the FIFA Women’s Cup early next year where they get to represent the African continent at club level at a global stage.
But before then, all 10 teams at the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA qualifier will be vying to be the last club standing.
CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA qualifier Draw:
Group A:
- Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies (South Africa)
- Ntopwa FC (Malawi)
- Beauties FC (Namibia) – Debutants
- Zesco Ndola Girls (Zambia) – Debutants
Group B:
- Gaborone United Ladies (Botswana)
- Young Buffaloes (Eswatini)
- Kick4Life WFC (Lesotho) – Debutants
Group C:
- Herentals Queens (Zimbabwe)
- Olympic de Moroni (Comoros)
- Clube de Desportos da Costa do Sol (Mozambique)
In the first fixture on Friday, Group A will kickstart the proceedings where debutants Beauties FC and Zesco Ndola Girls will battle it out. This will be followed by the much-anticipated clash which involves two-time winners and hosts, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies as they face Ntopwa FC.
The South Africans are yet to lose a match in the regional qualifiers – the only stain on their slate a defeat on penalties to Green Buffaloes of Zambia in 2022.
As title holders of the CAF Women’s Champions League for 2023, Banyana ba Style did not participate in the COSAFA qualifiers last year – they qualified automatically for the continental finals, but they are ready to fight their way to the top again.
“We have been using the domestic league to prepare for COSAFA, and we know the areas that we need to improve so that we come here and be able to make sure that we go through to the next stage from our group and make sure that we can go in and win the COSAFA. Sometimes in this tournament you should not move into a tournament thinking that this game will be easy that one will be difficult you can actually get a surprise of your life,” Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Head Coach Godfrey Sapula told COSAFA TV.
“For the fact that there’s other teams that are emerging for me it actually signifies the growth in terms of women’s football in the COSAFA region you know it’s no longer that we are expecting this team or the team, so it means also from those countries the competition is quite high we have to make sure we bring our A game here and make sure that we give ourselves a realistic opportunity to qualify for CAF Champions League.”
Sundowns Ladies’ place in the regional competition in 2024 was taken by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) who went on to lift the trophy and feature in the CAF Women’s Champions League in Morocco. The Capetonians remain the only university team to played in the regional and continental finals in the history of the two competitions.
Last year’s beaten finalists, Gaborone United Ladies will lead the charge in Group B on Saturday (23 August) when they face Young Buffaloes, while Group C will resume action later in the day with Herentals Queens going toe to toe with Clube de Desportos da Costa do Sol.
First place finishers in each group will progress to the last four, alongside the best-runner up across the field.
The semi-finals will take place on Friday (29 August) while the final is scheduled for Sunday, 31 August, with the winner clinching the prestigious spot in the CAF Women’s Champions League, and a chance to represent Africa on the global stage in the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in 2026.
2025 CAF WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE COSAFA QUALIFIERS FIXTURES
| NO. | MATCH | GROUP | DATE | TIME |
| 1. | Beauties FC vs Zesco Ndola Girls FC | A | 22 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 2. | Sundowns Ladies vs Ntopwa FC | A | 22 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| 3. | Gaborone United Ladies vs Young Buffaloes FC | B | 23 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 4. | Herentals Queens vs Costa do Sol | C | 23 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| 5. | Ntopwa FC vs Beauties FC | A | 24 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 6. | Sundowns Ladies vs Zesco Ndola Girls | A | 24 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| 7. | Young Buffaloes vs Kick4Life Women | B | 25 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 8. | Costa do Sol vs Olympic De Moroni | C | 25 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| 9. | Zesco Ndola Girls vs Ntopwa FC | A | 26 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 10. | Sundowns Ladies vs Beauties FC | A | 26 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| 11. | Gaborone United Ladies vs Kick4Life Women | B | 27 Aug 25 | 12h00 |
| 12. | Herentals Queens vs Olympic De Moroni | C | 27 Aug 25 | 15h00 |
| !!! REST DAY !!!! | 28 Aug 25 | |||
| 13. | Winner B vs Winner C | 29 Aug 25 | 12h00 | |
| 14. | Winner A vs Best 2nd Place | 29 Aug 25 | 15h00 | |
| !!! REST DAY !!!! | 30 Aug 25 | |||
| 15. | Winner M13 vs Winner M14 | 31 Aug 25 | 14h00 |
By Matlhomola Morake
