23 August 2017 – The South African Senior Women’s National Team, Banyana Banyana, has been drawn in Group C of the 2017 COSAFA Women’s Championship scheduled for Bulawayo, Zimbabwe next month (13 – 24 September).
The draw was conducted in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 23 August 2017.
The Sasol-sponsored Banyana Banyana will take on Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana in the group stages.
South Africa has won this tournament three times – 2002, 2006, 2008.
Hosts Zimbabwe are the defending championships having won the last tournament played on home soil in 2011.
Banyana Banyana open their account with a clash against Lesotho on Thursday, 14 September at the Luveve Stadium, followed by the fixture against Namibia the next day at the Barbourfields Stadium.
In the last group stages encounter, South Africa will go toe to toe against Botswana, also at Barbourfields Stadium.
Zimbabwe has been drawn alongside old rivals Zambia, as the draw threw up some mouth-watering clashes.
Madagascar and Malawi will join Zimbabwe and Zambia in Group A in what is sure to be a tightly-contested pool.
East African guest nation Kenya head up Group B, where they will face Mauritius, Mozambique and Swaziland in another pool that will be tough to predict.
All of the games in Group A will take place at Barbourfields Stadium, while all Group B fixtures will be played at Luveve Stadium.
The opening match will see Namibia take on Botswana (kick-off 10h30), before two clashes in Group A as Zambia faces Malawi (14h00) and Zimbabwe locks horns with Madagascar (16h30).
The teams play each other in a round-robin format, with the pool winners and best-placed runner-up advancing to the semifinals, which will be played on Thursday, 21 September.
The third-fourth place play off will take place on Saturday, 23 September, while the final has been scheduled for Sunday, 24 September.
With 12 teams competing this year, it is the biggest ever field assembled for the COSAFA Women’s Championship and shows the tremendous growth in women’s football in the last decade.
THE 2017 COSAFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW:
GROUP A
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Madagascar
Malawi
GROUP B
Kenya
Mauritius
Mozambique
Swaziland
GROUP C
South Africa
Namibia
Lesotho
Botswana
2017 COSAFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP POOL STAGE FIXTURES
September 13 (Barbourfields Stadium)
10h30 Namibia vs Botswana
14h00 Zambia vs Malawi
16h30 Zimbabwe vs Madagascar
September 14 (Luveve Stadium)
10h30 Mauritius vs Swaziland
14h00 Kenya vs Mozambique
16h30 South Africa vs Lesotho
September 15 (Barbourfields Stadium)
10h30 Madagascar vs Malawi
14h00 South Africa vs Namibia
16h30 Zimbabwe vs Zambia
September 16 (Luveve Stadium)
10h30 Kenya vs Mauritius
14h00 Lesotho vs Botswana
16h30 Mozambique vs Swaziland
September 17 (Barbourfields Stadium)
10h30 Zambia vs Madagascar
14h00 Zimbabwe vs Malawi
16h30 South Africa vs Botswana
September 18 (Luveve Stadium)
10h30 Namibia vs Lesotho
14h00 Mauritius vs Mozambique
16h30 Kenya vs Swaziland