Namibia’s Brave Gladiators football team made history on Sunday by winning the Hollywoodbets Cosafa Women’s Championship 2026 at Polokwane in South Africa.
They Brave Gladiators beat South Africa’s Banyana Banyana 2-1 in the final at Peter Mokaba Stadium, ending a 20-year wait for Namibia to lift the trophy.
The last time Namibia reached the final of the tournament was in 2006.
Banyana Banyana, who have won the Cosafa title several times, took the lead in the 36th minute when Nthabiseng Majiya scored just before half-time.
Namibia came back strongly after the break, with Muhinatjo Hanavi scoring the equaliser.
The game went into extra time, and Memory Ngonda scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute to give Namibia’s women’s team their first Cosafa Cup title.
Namibia reached the final after beating defending champions Zambia 1-0 in the semifinals.
Banyana Banyana got to the final by beating Zimbabwe on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Player of the match was Zenatha Coleman, who says she was proud of her team.
“We were not ready in the first half, but in the second half we decided to take control. We scored the equaliser and then the winning goal. We played more aggressively and kept the ball better. I am very proud of the team,” she said.
Coleman added: “We trained a lot because we knew South Africa like to keep the ball. We were ready for that.
“This win means a lot to me. I have played in Cosafa for many years, and now I can say goodbye to Cosafa.”
Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis praised her players.
“If you don’t score, you don’t win. We had many chances but did not score. The players gave everything and I am very proud of them,” she said.
Namibian coach Lesley Kakuva said: “We struggled in the first half, but we changed our tactics in the second half. We added an attacking player and started to control the game. We were able to come back and win. I am very proud of the players, they gave everything for the country.”
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