Your #WomensFootball Schedule for March 1:

#COSAFAChampionship:
3rd place: Zimbabwe v Zambia
Final: South Africa v Namibia

#SheBelievesCup:
Canada v Colombia (11 am PST truTV)
#USWNT v Argentina (2 pm PST TNT)

#CONCACAFWChampionship Qual.:
Group E: Cuba v Curaçao
Group F: El Salvador v Barbados

Zambia’s Copper Princesses reign supreme  New Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Keith Mweemba has urged the World Cup bound-Copper Princesses to build on their Cosafa Under-17 Girls’ Championship title-winning success. Zambia’s budding generation of football stars secured a third title triumph in the competition following a 3-0 success over Malawi in the final of the 2025 edition played at the Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday. Captain Ruth Mukoma, Natasha Kasema and Gift Chisha were the scorers in a strong display. The Copper Princesses claimed a third regional crown in this age-group, making them the most successful team with Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa the other winners since the inaugural event in 2019. The latest success marks a positive start to Mweemba’s tenure who assumed office last week. He urges the team to carry the momentum into their third appearance at the Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup which takes place in Morocco. “Congratulations to the team, technical bench and support staff for earning Zambia a record third Cosafa title at under-17 level for women. As an executive and the entire football family, we are very proud of you,” Mweemba said in a statement yesterday. “It is now time to focus on the forthcoming assignments, particularly the Fifa World Cup. Let this inspire the team to aspire for greater things especially at the World Cup.” Zambia’s high commissioner to Namibia, Stephen Katuka, hosted the Copper Princesses for a special dinner after their triumph in Windhoek. “The dinner was a moment of celebration and national pride as Carol Kanyemba’s side presented their winners’ trophy and individual accolades to ambassador Katuka,” FAZ said in a post on its Facebook page Individually, goalkeeper Bukata Kakumbi won the golden glove award after conceding just one goal throughout the tournament while captain Ruth Mukoma was named player of the tournament, both replicating the feat of 2024 winners Loveness Chingwele and Mercy Chipasula respectively. “Huge congratulations to this dedicated and talented group of players. Huge congratulations to the technical staff and entire delegation for all the sleepless nights,” said Lineker Mwiikisa, the Zambian team’s video analyst. “It’s such a great privilege to work with a dedicated technical team and a group of talented players who are the future of Zambian football. Their performance was outstanding and they deserve a pat on the back.” Meanwhile, Mozambique took the bronze medal with a seesaw 3-2 win over Zimbabwe in the third- place play-off earlier on Saturday. Thandy Nassone gave Mozambique the lead, but Zimbabwe hit back via Shantell Mugute. That joy was short-lived as Zimbabwe goalkeeper Tanyaradzwa Nyamucherera netted an own goal. Zimbabwe were level again when Dee Mapuwa scored her sixth goal of the tournament to finish one behind the tournament’s leading scorer Nancy Lebang from hosts Namibia. But the winner for Mozambique came with seven minutes remaining as Jessica Andicene found the back of the net. Malawi took home the fair play award to go with their best finish at the tournament. The post Zambia’s Copper Princesses reign supreme  appeared first on The Namibian.

#CopperPrincesses #ZambiaFootball #WomensFootball #FIFAWWC #CosafaChampionship

Baby Gladiators target Comoros win after Malawi defeat The good news is the margin of defeat for the Baby Gladiators against Malawi at Hage Geingob Stadium in Windhoek on Saturday was small. The bad news is the hosts must win their next Cosafa Under-17 Women’s Championship match convincingly to stand a chance of progressing to the semi-finals as the best runner-up. Poorly prepared Namibia lost their tournament opener 3-0 to a dominant Malawi, avoiding a repeat of the 6-1 defeat to the same rivals during last year’s edition of the competition. Saturday’s improved result is down to a combination of playing on home soil and poor finishing by the dominant Malawians. After holding their ground for 24 minutes, Baby Gladiators defender Uakatavisa Tjihiku scored an unfortunate own goal when the ball cannoned off the post and struck her to divert into the net. The lively Ethel Tambala extended Malawi’s lead on 33 minutes and Faluna Umali ensured the three points were safe with a 90th minute strike. Namibia head coach Errol Damaseb says the team did relatively well for a team that only assembled six days before the tournament kicked-off. He says the defeat was down to losing concentration at key moments, rather than being poorly prepared. “I would not say it [preparations] affected the performance of the girls. Like I previously said, preparations went well. We just lost focus in the critical moments of the game, conceding two set-pieces and then losing possession and conceding from transition,” Damased said in his post-match analysis. “So, we will have to go back to the drawing board and fix those errors that cost us the match today, and then I think on Tuesday we will be ready for the next one.” Namibia next face Comoros in the three-team group, with the latter due to have taken on Malawi yesterday. Comoros are the weakest team in group A on paper and the hosts will fancy their chances against them. Victory would keep Namibia’s semi-final hopes alive. “I think we will create more opportunities to score. Pressure will always be there, but in this case as the coaches will have to deal with the pressure,” Damaseb said of the weight of expectation to not fall at the first hurdle as hosts. “We don’t want to put a lot of pressure on the players as they are very young girls. So, we will make them relax and then we take on the next game and they play with confidence. “As long as they play comfortably, I think we will be good to go.” Meanwhile, holders Zambia opened their title defence campaign with a commanding 4-0 victory over Mozambique in Windhoek on Saturday. Player of the match Ruth Mukoma scored twice, with Precious Mwape and Natasha Kasema also on target as the champions underlined threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the competition. Mauritius are the other team in group B and will be in action against Mozambique today. Group C got underway with Lesotho, last year’s beaten finalist, edging Botswana 1-0. Botswana will also be in action today when they take on Zimbabwe. The post Baby Gladiators target Comoros win after Malawi defeat appeared first on The Namibian.

#BabyGladiators #CosafaChampionship #Under17Women #NamibiaFootball #WomenInSports