Malawi finally got their hands on the Cosafa Women’s Championship trophy for the first time after failing to win it in 2021, thanks to a 2-1 win over the Copper Queens at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria.

Asimenye Simwaka and Sabinha Thom scored the goals for Malawi, while Agness Phiri scored Zambia’s goal from a penalty kick.

Malawi’s captain, Temwa Chawinga, who was involved in both goals for Malawi, won the Golden Boot Award with nine goals and was also voted player of the tournament.

She caused problems for the Copper Queens, who were comprised of only locally based players.

The Scorchers won the tournament with a 100 percent winning record. It was their best campaign ever in the history of the competition.

Reacting after the match, Malawi’s coach, Lovermore Fazili said his side’s winning goal was from God.

“That goal came from God; yes, we were pressing but that one was God,” he said.

Fazili went on to make a controversial statement that has left Zambian fans chastizing him on social media.

He said he expected to beat Zambia because they weren’t a strong team in the competition.

“I was expecting this because, for me, the team to beat was South Africa; they play much better than this one [Zambia],” said Fazili shortly after the match at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

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He also said the Copper Queens were just playing long balls, claiming that his side outplayed them in the final.