Champions Mamelodi Sundowns have been drawn against Costa Do Sol of Mozambique and last season’s semifinalists Double Action Ladies from Botswana in Group A at the HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Champions League 2022 zonal qualifier.
Green Buffaloes of Zambia, Young Buffaloes from Eswatini and Olympique De Moroni of Comoros make up Group B at the August 7-13 competition that will be staged in Durban.
Both pools look likely they will be hotly contested, and while Sundowns may seem favourites in theirs, they will be wary of the quality of their opponents.
Green Buffaloes were also semifinalists last year and are a side to be watched closely.
The zonal qualifier will see the winner advance to the 2022 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Champions League finals that are to be held in Morocco later in the year, where Sundowns will hope to defend their continental title as well, but have some work to do before that.
Costa Do Sol, Young Buffaloes and Olympique de Moroni are all debutants in the COSAFA competition, but the rest return after the inaugural year in 2021 and will be wiser for that experience.
The winner of each pool will advance to the final, with the second-placed teams to play in a bronze-medal match, meaning there is little room for error and one poor outing could spell disaster.
Black Rhinos Queens from Harare made the decider last year, where they lost to Sundowns, but they will be absent in 2022 as they cannot compete again due to the suspension of the Zimbabwe Football Association by FIFA.
Zonal tournaments will be held in August/September across the continent and the final tournament is scheduled in Morocco next October.
For the inaugural edition played last year in Egypt, the participants were Wadi Degla FC (Egypt/UNAF), ASFAR (Morocco/UNAF), Malabo Kings FC (Equatorial Guinea/UNIFFAC), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa/COSAFA), Vihiga Queens (Kenya/CECAFA), AS Mandé (Mali/UFOA A), Hasaacas Ladies (Ghana/WAFU B) and Rivers Angels (Nigeria/WAFU B).
The competition will also be the forerunner to the ever-popular HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship that will be held in Gqeberha from August 31-September 11, another huge shot in the arm for women’s football in the region.
HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW
Group A
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Costa Do Sol (Mozambique)
Double Action Ladies (Botswana)
Group B
Green Buffaloes (Zambia)
Young Buffaloes (Eswatini)
Olympique de Moroni (Comoros)
2022 COSAFA WCL FIXTURES:
| GROUP STAGES | ||||
| DATE | KO TIME | GROUP | FIXTURE | VENUE |
| 07/08 | 12h00 | B | Green Buffaloes vs Young Buffaloes | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| 07/08 | 15h30 | A | Mamelodi Sundowns vs Costa do Sol | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| 09/08 | 12h00 | A | Double Action Ladies vs Mamelodi Sundowns | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| 09/08 | 15h30 | B | Olympique de Moroni vs Green Buffaloes | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| 11/08 | 12h00 | A | Costa do Sol vs Double Action Ladies | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| 11/08 | 15h30 | B | Young Buffaloes vs Olympique de Moroni | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
| THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF | ||||
| 13/08 | 12h00 | Runner-Up Group A vs Runner-Up Group B | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium | |
| FINAL | ||||
| 13/08 | 15h30 | Winner Group A vs Winner Group B | Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium |
Source: COSAFA.com
