The 2023 HOLLYWOODBETS COSAFA Women’s Championship kicked-off on Wednesday,4 October 2023 in South Africa, the 12 team annual competition is being hosted in the Gauteng Province with matches being played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria and the Dobsonville Stadium in Johannesburg.
Namibia hosted Botswana in a Group C second match of the day on Friday at the Lucas Moripe stadium in Pretoria.
Gladiators midfielder,Millicent Hikuam gave her side the upper hand when she scored in the sixth minute of the match. The second half saw Botswana come from behind to secure a goal through skipper Kesegofetse Mochawe who came through with a free kick into the ceiling of the net.
Addressing the media at the post match presser,Brave Gladiators Coach,Mervin Mbakera was clear about the team’s intentions in the competition.
“ Our intention was to secure the three points,we changed our attacking and defending principles to suit the opponents we were focused on the space behind their defence and we managed to score a goal through that pattern.
A simple foul costed us and we conceded a goal but we managed to get a point,moving forward we want to accumulate more points because the aim is to top the group stages and advance to the next stage of the tournament.
He adds that the team is hungry and believes they can go all the way
“Your start is very important and the girls were protagonist today,they showed that they are ready and up to the task,they are willing to go all the way but we lacked a bit of concentration towards the end and those are minor things we will be working on moving forward
Zimbabwe marked their return to international football with a 1-0 victory over Lesotho placing them on the top of Group C.
| GROUP C | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Namibia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lesotho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
Entrance for fans to all matches will be FREE of charge, with tickets available at the stadium on match day. They are limited to four per person. You can view all of the fixtures here.
If you cannot get to the stadium, you can watch all matches streamed LIVE on FIFA+. Games will also be carried on SuperSport.
