The group stage draw for the CAF Women’s Champions League | COSAFA Qualifier Botswana 2026 will take place in Gaborone on Tuesday, 3 August at 11h00 CAT (09h00 GMT) and will be broadcast live on CAF TV and COSAFA’s YouTube channel.
The eight competing teams will learn their fate as they vie for a place at the continental finals later in the year, with the regional qualifiers to be staged from August 20 to 29.
Hosts Gaborone United Ladies defending the title they won last year and again expected to be among the favourites. But the 2026 field includes several teams with strong recent records in the regional competition.
Gaborone United were beaten finalists in 2024 before returning to claim the title last year and will also have home-ground advantage this time around.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Zambia’s ZESCO Ndola Girls, who lost to Gaborone United in last year’s final on their tournament debut, will be looking to go one better, while South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will hope to recover from their semi-final defeat to ZESCO and claim a third regional title.
Sundowns won the tournament in 2021 and 2023 and are the only club to have claimed multiple titles. They have also lifted the continental title twice.
Costa do Sol from Mozambique have also been consistent performers, finishing third in 2023 and reaching the semi-finals again last year, when they were beaten by Gaborone United.
Zimbabwe’s Herentals Queens reached the last four in 2024, also losing to Gaborone United, which remains their best finish to date.
Lesotho Defence Force will make their third appearance in the competition and their first since 2023, with the aim of progressing beyond the group stage for the first time.
Nsingizini Hotspurs and Silver Strikers will both make their tournament debuts. Nsingizini become the third club from Eswatini to take part after Manzini Wanderers Ladies and Young Buffaloes, while Silver Strikers are the third Malawian representatives following Ntopwa FC and Ascent Soccer Academy.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four, with hosts and defending champions Gaborone United automatically placed in position A1, while Mamelodi Sundowns, the highest-ranked side over the last three editions, will occupy position B1.
The top two teams in each pool will advance to the semi-finals.
Costa do Sol and last year’s runners-up ZESCO Ndola Girls make up the next ranking level and will be placed together in Pot 1. Herentals Queens, Lesotho Defence Force, Nsingizini Hotspurs and Silver Strikers form Pot 2.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The first team drawn from Pot 1 will be placed in Group A, with a second draw determining their position in the pool. The remaining Pot 1 team will then go into Group B, with their place in that group also decided through a separate positional draw.
The same procedure will then be followed for the four teams in Pot 2. They will be drawn alternately into Groups A and B, with further draws determining their positions in the respective pools until both groups contain four teams.