Africa-Press – Zambia. The Zambia Women’s National Team will today leave for South Africa ahead of the 2022 COSAFA Women’s Championship which kicks off on Wednesday. The Copper Queens will depart for Nelson Mandela Bay at 13:00hrs from Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, the ZamFoot Crew understands.
Mwape and his Assistants, Florence Mwila, Charity Nthala, and, goalkeeper coach Yona Phiri have been taking the players through their paces in a vigorous training session at Nkoloma Stadium, having double sessions.
The ZamFoot Crew visited the Queens morning training session at Nkoloma Stadium on Sunday as Mwape and his technical bench made final tweaks to their preps for the tournament. The 2019 runners-up were drawn in Group B alongside Namibia, Eswatini, and Lesotho.
Group A comprises South Africa, Angola, Mauritius, and Mozambique while Botswana, Malawi, Comoros, and guest nation Tanzania who were crowned 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championships winners after a 1-0 victory over Malawi in the final at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium make up group C.
Should Zambia top group A they will face the winners of group C in the semifinal tie. Riding on the success in Morocco where the team minted bronze after beating Nigeria in a tightly contested third and fourth play off, The Copper Queens are among the favorites to lift the trophy.
Youngsters Ochumba Oseke Lubanji, Evarine Susan Katongo, Maweta Chilenga, Esther Siamfuko, and Natasha Nanyangwe have all been included in the team led by Olympic history maker Barbra Banda.
Green Buffaloes star Ireen Lungu returns to Nelson Mandela after helping her club to win the 2022 COSAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifier and qualify for the Champions League proper slated for Morocco later this year.
Lungu will be looking to pick up where she left off early this month as she scored five goals to win the golden boot. The 10th edition of the regional showpiece will be hosted in South Africa from August 31-September 11.
The Copper Queens will begin their campaign against Namibia on 1 September at Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Gqeberha before the penultimate group match against Lesotho on 4 September before wrapping up their Group engagement against Eswatini two days later.
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