Zambia have claimed a record-equalling sixth Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup title after a 1-0 victory over Namibia in a thrilling final at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium, bringing to a close another superb regional championship on Sunday.
Chipolopolo claimed their winner in extra-time as Albert Kangwanda’s 35-yard shot rebounded off the post and onto Namibia goalkeeper Edward Maova before finding its way into the net for an unfortunate own goal.
It was the decisive moment in a tight final in which both sides had other chances, most notably Namibia’s Heita Immanuel, who blasted over from point-blank range when he simply had to score.
The Brave Warriors were denied a second regional title, but Zambia equal Zimbabwe’s record of six after their latest win, which is also their second in three competitions after they were victorious in 2019.
West Africa guest nation Senegal claimed the bronze medal as they beat Mozambique 4-2 on penalties after the teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Senegal won silver in 2021 but could not improve on that performance, though they will be happy to at least go home with a medal again.
They took the lead when Jean Diouf scored his second goal of the competition 12 minutes from the end, but with virtually the last kick of the game Mozambique equalised via Lua King.
That sent the match to penalties and after The Mambas missed their first two, they were always up against it and had to settle for fourth place for the second year in a row.
South Africa won the Plate competition for the fourth time in five tournaments as they defeated Botswana 2-1 in the final at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.
The Zebras were playing their sixth game in 13 days and looked heavy in the legs against a youthful South African team where every member of their squad is 21 years old or younger.
Antonio van Wyk gave the home team the lead 10 minutes before halftime, before Botswana suffered a further set-back when Odirile Lekoba received a straight red card and just a minute later they fell two goals behind.
The excellent Selaelo Rasebotja scored a second for Baby Bafana, but Botswana did pull one back late on in injury-time at the end of the game when Thato Kebue saw his vicious shot deflected into the net.
Zambian Kelvin Kampamba was named Player of the Tournament, while Namibia Maova won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper.
Eswatini forward Sabelo Ndzinisa won the Golden Boot after he scored three goals in the competition, while Botswana walked away with the Fair Play Award. The individual awards all carry a R20 000 first prize.
Zambia receive R500 000 in prize-money to go with the coveted trophy, while Namibia will go home with R250 000. Senegal have earned R150 000 and Mozambique will pocket R100 000.