Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Nations Women’s Representative Colonel Priscilla Katoba has urged the Copper Queens to use their disappointing group-stage exit at the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 as a lesson rather than allow the setback to derail their progress.
Zambia’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages ended despite a 2-1 victory over Malawi in their final Group C match, with the result leaving the Copper Queens, Nigeria and Malawi level on six points after Nigeria’s 6-2 victory over Egypt.
However, under CAF’s head-to-head regulations, results against the lowest-ranked team in the group, Egypt, were discarded when determining the three-way tie.
The mini-table between Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi left all three teams with three points from their two matches against each other. With goal difference also unable to separate them, goals scored became the decisive factor.
Malawi advanced as group winners after scoring four goals in the mini-table, Nigeria progressed in second with three, while Zambia’s two goals condemned the Copper Queens to an early exit.
The elimination was particularly painful given Zambia’s emphatic start to the tournament. Nora Häuptle’s side opened their campaign with a 6-0 demolition of Egypt before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat by eventual runners-up Nigeria.
Katoba believes the Nigeria defeat was the turning point.
“I think everyone should be proud of the girls. Of course, I can indicate that we missed it on the second game against Nigeria,” Katoba said.
“We should have put in all our best to either get a draw if things were hard enough, but football has got three results. We ended up with a loss and it was from that damage that I think things went haywire for us.”
Katoba also questioned whether the technical bench did enough to ensure the players fully understood the tournament regulations and the potential consequences of the three-way tie.
She said FAZ leadership had received and understood the regulations but felt the players should have been made more aware of the implications before the decisive meeting with Malawi.
“Our technical bench didn’t do the needful. They didn’t do their part to prepare the girls on the rules that were given,” she said.
“The rules came in and, from my angle, I would have loved that the technical bench could have prepared the girls, explaining exactly our stance on the regulations.”
According to Katoba, the players entered the Malawi match believing that victory alone would guarantee qualification.
“Our girls didn’t know the rules even as they went into the Malawi game. They knew that as long as they won that game, then we were through,” she said.
“With two days to digest the regulations, we should have warned our players that they should have gone into that Malawi game with the focus to get more goals, unlike just going for a win.”
The early exit marks a significant disappointment for a Zambia side that has established itself among Africa’s leading women’s teams.
The Copper Queens won bronze at the 2022 WAFCON, a result which also secured their historic qualification for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. At the 2024 WAFCON, they reached the knockout stage.
This time, however, they were eliminated after just three group matches.
Katoba, who has travelled with the team through several major tournaments, admitted that the result was difficult to accept.
“We are coming from the background in 2022 where we got a bronze and qualified to the World Cup,” she said.
“You can imagine tasting the World Cup and this time around coming out in the group stages. It was something that everyone couldn’t believe. The girls couldn’t believe it, even us at that leadership level, we didn’t believe it.”
But rather than allowing the disappointment to define the team, Katoba wants Zambia to use it as an opportunity to identify and correct its shortcomings.
“For us as the Football Association of Zambia, we are focused to see that the girls bounce back and we are going to do our very best,” she said.
“We always talk of going back to the drawing board, but that’s the language. Of course, that’s the only thing we brought back to the drawing board – to see where we went wrong, where we didn’t take things as we could have taken them, and be able to make amends.”
Katoba’s message to the players was equally direct: failure should be viewed as part of the learning process.
“I would say they should not drop their bodies,” she said.
“You know, for two consecutive tournaments they have dropped off so early, but I’ve known to say if you don’t fail in life sometimes you wouldn’t take things seriously. Failure also is a lesson.”
The challenge now, she says, is for each player and member of the technical set-up to examine what went wrong, address the weaknesses and return stronger.
“If you don’t do well or you don’t push so much, definitely you drop off from whatever you would have wanted to achieve,” Katoba added.
“The best for the girls is to be able to see: where didn’t I do well? Of course, when someone is studying or planning for something, you plan that you want to succeed and to win. But definitely, if you fall short, you have to check yourself: where did I fall short? Improve on that and then definitely be able to get the ball.”
For a Copper Queens generation that has experienced the highs of an Olympic qualification, a WAFCON bronze medal and a World Cup appearance, Morocco 2026 represents a painful setback.
But Katoba hopes it can also become the foundation for a stronger return.
“The next time we get back to WAFCON, we need to be so focused and be able to see which loopholes we are supposed to cover,” she said.
“This time around we just have to push the girls and be able to reach the very end.”
For Zambia, the lesson from Morocco is clear: at the highest level, preparation extends beyond what happens on the pitch. And Katoba believes the Copper Queens must ensure that the next opportunity is not lost through mistakes that can be prevented.
