The Copper Princesses will begin their 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign against Rwanda next month, with the first-round fixtures scheduled between the 14th and 15th. The tournament will once again be hosted in Morocco from October to November.

Zambia has been drawn against Rwanda in the opening round of the 2026 qualifiers and will be aiming to reach the global showpiece for a fourth time, having previously competed at the 2014, 2024, and 2025 editions.

At the last tournament, the Copper Princesses reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay and a 2-0 loss to Japan before beating New Zealand to advance as one of the best-placed teams.

Kanyemba’s reaction

Their campaign eventually ended in the knockout stage following a 6-0 defeat to Canada. The team was coached by Carol Kanyemba, who has now led the side at two consecutive World Cup editions.

“This comes in as a very good draw on paper,” Kanyemba reacted to the draw. “Zambia are favourites to go through past this group, facing Rwanda, which hasn’t really been on the highest platform of women’s football, but the game has been developing every day, and you cannot underrate any team.”

Kanyemba also revealed that a number of players from the previous squad have graduated to the next age-group national teams, prompting the need to recruit new talent.

“We are coming to this round of qualifiers with players who have graduated from the previous under-seventeen that we went with to the World Cup. About 10 of the girls that we went with at the World Cup have graduated. So it’s our duty and time now to start recruiting new players that will be able to blend in the team’s philosophy and be able to understand what is required of them.”

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