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