Gaborone United Ladies ended their 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers campaign with a bronze medal, but fell short of securing the regional ticket to the main continental tournament after Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies claimed the title.
The Rose Roses finished third after defeating Malawi’s Silver Strikers Ladies 4-0 in the bronze-medal play-off, bringing an emphatic end to their campaign on home soil.
Despite the podium finish, United’s campaign ultimately ended without the continental qualification they had been chasing. The COSAFA region’s place in the CAF Women’s Champions League main tournament went to Mamelodi Sundowns after the South African side defeated Zambia’s ZESCO Ndola Girls 2-1 in the final on August 29.
United had shown early promise in the tournament, opening their Group A campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lesotho Defence Force. Lesego Radiakanyo scored in the 54th minute before Goitsemang Tlamma added the second in the 88th minute.
They then secured back-to-back wins by edging Zimbabwean side Herentals Queens 1-0, with Yaone Modise scoring the decisive goal.
A 2-0 defeat to ZESCO Ndola Girls in their final group match saw United finish as Group A runners-up, behind the Zambian side, but they still advanced to the semi-finals. However, their hopes of reaching the final and moving one step closer to continental qualification were ended by Sundowns, who produced a dominant 5-0 semi-final victory over the Botswana side.
United responded strongly in the third-place play-off, refusing to finish the tournament empty-handed. They dismantled Silver Strikers 4-0, with Jessica Modise scoring a hat-trick and Jessica Maponga adding the other goal to secure the bronze medal.
The result gave United a third-place finish after a campaign in which they recorded three wins and two defeats across five matches. They scored seven goals and conceded nine over the tournament.
But while the bronze medal represents a significant podium finish for the Botswana side, the bigger prize went elsewhere. Sundowns secured the CAF Women’s Champions League ticket after beating ZESCO 2-1 in the final, with Refilwe Tholakele scoring both goals, including the second-half penalty that settled the contest.
Sundown’s triumph also saw them sweep the major individual honours. Tholakele finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with seven goals and won the Golden Boot, while Andile Dlamini claimed the Golden Glove and Karabo Dhlamini was named Player of the Tournament.
ZESCO finished as runners-up, while Gaborone United settled for third place following their convincing victory over Silver Strikers.
