_{Tanzania’s women’s team, Twiga Stars have today stopped Namibia 2-1 in a play-off match to settle for third place in the 2022 COSAFA 2022 Holleywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship.}

_{Christer Bahera gave Twiga Stars the lead after 12 minutes at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Her long shot beat Namibia’s goalkeeper Melissa Matheus. But the Namibian team continued to push forward before Aisha Mnunka netted an own goal after 20 minutes to make it 1-1.}

_{In the second half the two teams created some decent scoring opportunities, but it was the Namibian captain Emma Naris who netted in her own net with only two minutes to full time.}

_{Bakari Shime, the Twiga Stars head coach said although they did not defend the title, he is proud of the effort of his team. “We managed to play six matches and won five,” added Shime. The Tanzanian team also won the Fair Play Award.}

_{Zambia who ejected Tanzania at the semi final stage emerged champions after scoring in extra time to edge South Africa 1-0. Skipper Barbra Banda took her tally to 10 goals when she scored the lone goal.}

_{Tanzania’s Twiga Stars will face Namibia in the third place play-off on Sunday at the on-going 2022 Holleywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship.}

_{The 2021 champions Tanzania suffered a 2-1 defeat to Zambia, while Namibia fell 1-0 to South Africa this evening at the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Port Elizabeth.}

_{Skipper Barbra Banda took her tally to nine goals in the tournament when she gave Copper Queens the lead after 12 minutes. But Zambian defender Lushomo Mweemba headed in an own goal to level matters for Twiga Stars.}

_{After the interval Misozi Zulu put Zambia ahead again with a 46th minute goal. The Tanzanian team later pushed forward and tries to find more goals, but failed.}

_{In the second semi final Sam-Sam Lithemba netted an 82nd minute goal to ensure South Africa storm the final where they will face Zambia on Sunday.}

_{The Twiga Stars started their campaign with a 4-0 win against Comoros, before they settled foa a goalless draw against Botsawna and humbled Malawi 3-1 in the last Group C match.}

_{The defending champions Twiga Stars of Tanzania will take to the field this afternoon to face Zambia in the first semi final clash at the on-going 2022 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship.}

_{The match will take place at the in Wolfson Stadium at the Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth. The semi final is a repeat of last year’s final that Tanzania won 1-0.}

_{Bakari Shime Nyundo, the Twiga Stars coach made it clear that facing Zambia will be a tough encounter, but added that they must take their chances. “We have prepared well and the team is ready to take on Zambia,” added the coach.}

_{To reach the semi final stage Tanzania beat Comoros 4-0, before drawing goalless against Botswana and picking a 3-1 win in the last Group C match against Malawi. The Zambian team topped Group B after wins against Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini.}

_{Twiga Stars will look to the in-form duo Enekia Lunyamila and Donisia Minja who have each netted two goals and Opa Tukumbuke to lead the hunt for goals. Skipper Barbra Banda who is the tournament’s leading scorer with eight goals will lead the Zambian team.}

_{The second semi final will see hosts South Africa battle Namibia. The tournament organized by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) attracted 12 teams with Tanzania being the only guest side.}

_{Tanzania’s senior national women’s team, Twiga Stars will be the only guest side at the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Championship 2022 slated for August 31st to September 11th in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizaberth in South Africa.}

_{The Twiga Stars will be all out to try and defend the title they won last year. The team traveled to South Africa today to acclimatize ahead of the tournament which will feature 12 teams.}

_{Tanzania are placed in Group C alongside Botswana, Comoros and Malawi who they defeated in the final last year.}

_{Bakari Shimes, the Twiga Stars coach told Cecafaonline that the COSAFA Women’s Championship 2022 presents yet another good opportunity for his team to play competitive matches inorder to keep improving. “We know it will not be easy because every team will come all out to try and capture the trophy,” said Shimes.}

_{The other teams in the tournament include newly crowned champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 (WAFCON) South Africa, Angola, Mauritius and Mozambique in Group A. Zambia, Eswatini, Lesotho and Namibia are placed in Group B.}