The Copper Queens will begin preparations for the defense of their COSAFA title after making their debut at the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup, where they exited with one win from the group stage.
“The team will first participate in the regional championship(COSAFA Cup) before shifting focus to the Olympic qualifiers,” FAZ spokesperson Sydney Mungala told BolaNews.
He added that the Olympic games qualifiers “are expected to be played in November.”
Some key players could miss COSAFA
Bruce Mwape who is expected to continue as head coach, is likely to make new call-ups to the team.
BolaNews sources have also confirmed that some of the players who featured for the Copper Queens at the World Cup will not be part of the COSAFA squad due to club engagements.
Zambia beat South Africa 1-0 at the last COSAFA edition, to win the tournament for the first time.
Following the COSAFA, the Copper Queens will turn their attention to the second round of the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers. They are scheduled to play Mali in a two-leg match in November.
The Flying Eagles beat Burkina Faso 3-2 on aggregate over a two-legged tie to set up an encounter against Zambia.
The winner between the two sides will then face the winner between Benin and Ghana in February 2024.
The last round of the Olympic qualifiers will be played between 1-9 April 2024. Only two teams among the remaining 18 will be Africa’s representatives in Paris next year.
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The Copper Queens made their maiden Olympic appearance at the Tokyo edition in 2021. They finished third in their Group managing just one draw and losing twice, including a 10-3 loss to Netherlands.
During the eventual tournament, Barbara Banda became the first player, both men, and women, to score back-to-back hat-tricks.
