CWCL Qualifiers: Sundowns Ladies and Zesco get off to winning start

There were no surprises when the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers got underway in South Africa on Friday afternoon.

Former champions Mamelodi Sundowns’ Ladies and ZESCO Ndola Ladies won their respective Group A matches at the AW Miller Stadium in Johannesburg.

Ndola from Zambia found an easy prey in the Beauties of Namibia, thumping them 3-0. Ndola were so dominant they scored all the goals in the first half through Avell Chitundu, Penelope Mulumbwa and Eneless Phiri in the 21st, 42nd and 45th minutes respectively.

Ndola’s next game is on Sunday against Sundowns, who, too, did not need to break a sweat against Ntopwa Ladies from Malawi.

In the end, this meeting between the two-time African champions and Ntopwa proved to be a mismatch in every respect on the pitch.

Godfrey Sapula’s girls eased to a comfortable win over the Blantyre-based opponents. Botswana forward Refilwe Tholakele netted a double, and Nthabiseng Majiya added a second to complete the job.

The Yellow Nation starts their journey with 3️⃣ goals, 3️⃣ points and 1️⃣ clean sheet.

15′ & 43′ Tholakele
54′ Majiya #SundownsLadies #AreyengMasandawana #COSAFAQualifiers2025 pic.twitter.com/TU5aJnwFE0

— Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Team (@SundownsLadies) August 22, 2025

Ntopwa will seek to bounce back when they face Beauties FC on Sunday.

SATURDAY’S FIXTURES
Group B
Gaborone United vs Young Buffaloes (KO 12h00; 10h00 GMT)

Group C
Herentals Queens vs Costa do Sol (KO 15h00; 13h00 GMT)

Full groups:
GROUP A: Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Ntopwa FC (Malawi), Beauties FC (Namibia), Zesco Ndola Girls (Zambia)

GROUP B: Gaborone United Ladies FC (Botswana), Young Buffaloes (Eswatini), Kick4Life (Lesotho)

GROUP C: Herentals Queens (Zimbabwe), CD Costa do Sol (Mozambique), Olympic de Moroni (Comoros)