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Ellina Mhlanga -Senior Sports Reporter

COSAFA have unveiled the format and eight clubs that are set to compete in the inaugural COSAFA Women’s Champions League.

The competition will serve as a qualifier for the first-ever CAF Women’s Champions League that is scheduled to take place later in the year.

According to a statement by COSAFA this morning, the eight clubs to compete in the competition are Botswana’s Prisons XI, Manzini Wanderers LFC from Eswatini, Lesotho Defence Force, Mozambique’s Costa Do Sol and Tura Magic FC of Namibia, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies FC of South Africa as well as Zambia’s Green Buffaloes and Zimbabwe’s Black Rhinos Queens.

The eight teams will be split into two groups of four, playing a minimum of three games.

The top two in each pool will advance to the semi-finals.

The venue and dates for the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Champions League are set to be finalised soon once discussions have been completed with all stakeholders, but it will be played in either June or August.

COSAFA general secretary Sue Destombes said they are excited to be staging the competition.

“We are incredibly excited to stage our first COSAFA Women’s Champions League, which will be a chance for the leading clubs in the region to not only lift a prestigious trophy, but also take their place at the continental finals,” Destombes said.

“Adding to our senior women’s championship and the junior events in the Under-17 and Under-20 age groups, this new competition enhances our commitment to women’s football and advancing the sport in our region.

“We only have to look at our national teams to see the enormous talent in Southern Africa and I am quite sure that our club sides can make a big impact at the CAF Women’s Champions League in the future,” said Destombes.

Both FIFA and new CAF President Patrice Motsepe have targeted growing women’s football in the coming years and the COSAFA competition is a big step forward for Southern Africa in this regard.