ZPL Announces 2027 ABSA Cup Qualification Format

The Zambian Premier League (ZPL) has announced that qualification for the 2027 ABSA Cup will be determined at the end of the transitional MTN Super League season, with the top seven teams securing places in the country’s biggest cup competition.

The MTN Super League is set to kick off on October 3, 2026, with teams divided into two streams, A and B. The winners of the two streams will face each other in a playoff to determine the league champions.

Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday at MTN House, where league sponsors MTN Zambia and broadcasters TopStar were addressing the media ahead of the league’s kickoff, ZPL Head of League and Competitions Brian Mulenga disclosed the qualification criteria for the ABSA Cup and CAF Champions League.

“We will not play the ABSA Cup during the transitional season, but the league standings at the end of the transitional season will determine who plays in the ABSA Cup in the full season,” Mulenga said. “And the ABSA Cup itself will be played in the first half of the 2027 season.”

“In short, even the ABSA Cup is reverting back to the format it used to have, like in 2018, where the positions at the end of the season will determine their [teams] participation in the ABSA Cup.”

For the past nine years, the top seven teams in the MTN Super League standings at the halfway stage of the season have secured qualification for the ABSA Cup, a criterion that has drawn criticism from multiple stakeholders.

Playoff winner to play Champions League

Earlier this year, the ZPL also announced that the winner of the ABSA Cup will represent Zambia in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Meanwhile, Mulenga said two teams from each stream will be relegated, while the winner of the playoff between the two stream winners will represent Zambia in the CAF Champions League.

“For the rest of the competition, two teams from each stream will be demoted. The winners of the two streams will play a playoff which will be the final, and this final will be at a neutral venue, and it will culminate in a champion and this champion from the transitional season will represent Zambia at the CAF Champions League.”