Green Buffaloes Women Football Club Head Coach Charles Haalubono says his team is shaping up well ahead of the inaugural 2021 COSAFA Women’s Champions League tournament to be hosted by South Africa from 26th August to 4th September 2021.
Speaking in an interview with the ZamFoot Crew, Haalubono said Buffaloes’ group is a tough one but he is confident the team is ready to face any opponent.
“It’s a tough group, Black Rhinos and Tura Magic have experienced players and exposed at the International level. So we have to be at our best to play against them,” Haluboono said.
Haalubono who is also Zambia Women’s Under-20 Coach said his lasses are gearing up well and their preparation will be boosted by the return of National Women’s Team players who just came back from the Olympics in Japan coupled with a few inclusions in the squad.
“The team is shaping up well, we are just waiting for the National team players to come and complete the team so that we can train together,” he said.
“We have secured the services of Natasha Nanyangwe, Loveness Malunga, and Trynes Changwe from Green Eagles, we are just hoping for the best agreement with their mother clubs,” he added.
However, Coach Haluboono has bemoaned the level of support from fellow women’s clubs in terms of being reluctant to release some of their players to them for continental assignments.
“It has been so difficult for us to receive a positive response from our fellow Women’s clubs. We have seen clubs from other countries getting players from other teams to strengthen their squads, but here it’s an uphill battle. We Just put everything in God’s good hands for us to produce the desired results,” Haalubono said.
This is the first-ever time we are going to witness a regional and also continental Women’s Champions League and the Buffaloes gaffer is optimistic that this development will help to improve and develop Women’s Football.
“Football in the sub-Saharan region has improved so much. The whole competition will be tough because it will also help to improve women’s football and the level of competition in Africa.”
Buffaloes who are the reigning Zambian Champions were drawn in Group B at the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Champions League alongside Black Rhinos from Zimbabwe and Tura Magic from Namibia.
The Zambia Army-sponsored side will start their campaign on 27th August 2021 with a tricky tie against Black Rhinos before facing Tura Magic on 31st August 2021 with both matches set at 15:00hrs.
Group A has South African Giants Mamelodi Sundowns, Lesotho Defence Force, Double Action Ladies from Botswana, and Manzini Wanderers LFC from Eswatini.
The top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals and eventually the finals with the winners going on to represent the region in the 2021 Total Energies CAF Women’s Champions League.
The 2021 COSAFA Women’s Champions League will act as a qualifier for the Inaugural 2021 Total Energies CAF Women’s Champions League to be played later on this year with teams from other five regions such as CECEFA, UNAF, UNIFFAC, WAFU Zone A and B battling it out for African best women’s team.
