Malawi’s Under-15 girls’ football team secured a bronze medal at the 2025 CAF African Schools Championship COSAFA Qualifiers in Cape Town, South Africa, after defeating Zimbabwe 2-1 in the third-place playoff, courtesy of goals from Talandira Kachala and Tryness Chawala.
It was a spirited performance from Malawi, who showed great determination to finish on the podium. The team also received the Fair Play Award, recognising their discipline and sportsmanship throughout the competition.
Despite the bronze medal, Malawi’s journey ends at the regional level as only the COSAFA champions—Zambia’s boys’ and girls’ teams—qualify for the continental finals according to CAF’s qualification criteria.
Malawi started the match brightly and opened the scoring just six minutes in when Kachala curled home a well-taken free-kick near the edge of the box. Zimbabwe responded quickly, equalising four minutes later through Mapuwa.
The match remained tightly contested until the 34th minute when Chawala struck the decisive goal, sealing a well-deserved 2-1 victory for Malawi.
Head coach Bridget Chirwa praised her players for their fighting spirit in a tough contest.
“It was a tough match, but we fought hard and got the win over Zimbabwe,” she said.
