Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Women’s Representative Colonel Priscilla Katoba has urged the Copper Queens to turn their disappointing early exit from the 2026 TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations into a valuable learning experience.
Zambia bowed out at the group stage despite defeating Malawi 2-1 in their final Group C fixture. The result left Zambia, Nigeria and Malawi tied on six points, with the qualification places eventually decided by goals scored after the relevant head-to-head calculations failed to separate the three teams.
Malawi finished top of the mini-table after scoring four goals, while Nigeria advanced in second with three. Zambia managed only two goals in the same calculations and were consequently eliminated.
Nigeria defeat proved costly
For Katoba, the turning point came in Zambia’s second group match against Nigeria, where the Copper Queens suffered a 1-0 defeat.
She believes Zambia needed to get a result from that encounter to put themselves in a stronger position heading into the final round of matches.
“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.”
The FAZ official also raised concerns over the team’s understanding of the tournament regulations and the possible consequences of a three-way tie.
According to Katoba, while FAZ leadership was aware of the regulations, the technical bench should have ensured the players understood the situation before their final match against 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.
Katoba believes the players approached the Malawi game thinking that a victory would automatically guarantee their progression, rather than recognising the importance of winning by a bigger margin.
“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.”
A difficult setback for Zambia
The group-stage elimination represents a major disappointment for the Copper Queens, who have established themselves as one of Africa’s leading women’s teams in recent years.
Zambia won bronze at the 2022 WAFCON, securing a historic FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification, before progressing to the knockout stage at the following continental tournament.
Their 2026 campaign initially appeared promising after they opened with a commanding 6-0 victory over Egypt, but the loss to Nigeria ultimately proved costly.
Katoba admitted that the early elimination was difficult for both the players and the FAZ leadership.
“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.”
‘Failure is also a lesson’
Despite the disappointment, Katoba believes the result should not derail the progress Zambia’s women’s national team has made.
She called on the players to remain positive while using the experience to identify weaknesses and make improvements before the next major tournament.
“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.
Katoba stressed that going “back to the drawing board” should involve more than simply reviewing the result. She wants the technical team and players to identify specific mistakes and address them.
“The best for the girls is to be able to see: where didn’t I do well? … if you fall short, you have to check yourself: where did I fall short? Improve on that.”
She also urged the players not to lose confidence following the setback.
“I would say they should not drop their bodies. … if you don’t fail in life sometimes you wouldn’t take things seriously. Failure also is a lesson.”
Copper Queens urged to return stronger
With the 2026 WAFCON campaign now over, Katoba says the focus must shift towards rebuilding and ensuring Zambia returns better prepared for its next continental challenge.
She believes the team must identify the loopholes exposed in Morocco and ensure similar mistakes are not repeated.
“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,” Katoba said.
For a Copper Queens side that has experienced a WAFCON bronze medal, Olympic qualification and a historic World Cup appearance, the group-stage exit is undoubtedly a setback.
However, Katoba hopes the disappointment will ultimately provide the motivation and lessons needed to help Zambia push deeper into the tournament when the next opportunity arrives.
