The 2023 HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship will kick off today and will run up until October 15. Different stadiums in the Gauteng province will be used for the competition including Lucas Moribe, Dobsonville and UJ Soweto Stadium. Here is a preview of the host’s clash against Malawi which will take place in the opening day of the competition.
4/10 SOUTH AFRICA | DRAW 5/2 | MALAWI 6/1 (Odds provided by Hollywoodbets)
South Africa will lock horns with Malawi in their group A opening clash of the COSAFA Women’s Championship taking place at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville at 15:00. Banyana Banyana recently suffered back-to-back losses on their trip to USA and will be looking to bounce back to winning ways at the expense of the Malawians. This is a must-win match for South Africa as they are playing in their own backyard and will have the backing of the home fans.
Banyana have won this prestigious tournament a record breaking seven times, they were runners up last year after lost to Zambia in a nail-biting final where they were defeated 1-0. They will be aiming to correct their mistakes and fight to go all the way and lift their eighth COSAFA Women’s Championship trophy. According to the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, South Africa are currently ranked forty-fifth globally and second on the continent, behind Nigeria who are currently ranked thirty-second and first on the continent.
Meanwhile Lovemore Fazili’s ladies are no push overs and will be looking to hit Banyana with a double as they came out victorious 3-2 in their previous match in the 2021 version of the competition. The Scorchers will also battle Eswatini and Madagascar for a spot in the knock out stages. They will be relying on their forwards, Paris Saint Germain’s Temwa Chawinga and TP Mazembe’s Sabina Thom to score goals for them.
Malawi has a mountain to climb as a win against the hosts will not be easy as they have proven to be a side not to go down easily. They showed great resilience in the Women’s World Cup where they came up short against Netherland in the Round of 16. Malawi has been proving not be shy in the face of goals as they have recently demolished Seychelles 17-0 in their back to back friendlies. They have netted a record breaking forty-three goals across their previous four matches.
To witness the action live, fans can come to the stadium early and collect their free tickets (limited to four per person) and the games will also be broadcasted on SuperSport channels including their DSTV Stream platform. The games can also be streamed live via FIFA+ and on SABC Sport’s DTT Channel 4.
Written by Siph’esihle Soni (@siphesihlesoni)