U-17 girls national soccer team have settled for bronze at the 2019 COSAFA championship in Mauritius after they beat the Zebras of Botswana by three goals to nil.

Zambia was knocked out of the tournament at the semi-final stage by a resilient South African side by two goals to one and had to settle for the play-off.

Speaking after the match, U-17 coach Kangwa Kaluba said the tournament has taught the girls to persevere and play at a contest such as COSAFA.

“It was very educative and it was very interesting. And I’m so happy for our girls. At least they will have to go back home with something. But what is important is to see the developing part. How are the girls improving? Are the girls getting there? So, I could see the endurance levels there and if they continue to play let’s say five games, how can they react? So, you can see that after today’s game, many of the players were tired. And this is what we need for them to understand how to apply themselves on how to play in the tournament,” Kangwa said.

He said Zambia had learnt how to organise a team for the tournament.

“We have learnt a lot from our colleagues, especially the organisation of the girl’s teams. It’s not easy to come up with a girls’ team and I’m so happy that COSAFA [introduced] this kind of category which is very important. If we want women’s football to grow in Africa, we need to introduce tournaments such as these,” said Kangwa.