The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has expressed disappointment following the Copper Queens’ early exit from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), while reaffirming its commitment to preparing the team for future international competitions. Zambia’s campaign came to an end in the group stage despite the team winning two of its three matches and delivering some of the tournament’s most impressive attacking performances. The Copper Queens narrowly missed out on qualification for the quarterfinals after the final Group C standings were decided by the competition’s tiebreaker rules. Although the outcome was difficult to accept, FAZ believes the team showed enough quality to remain optimistic about the future. Attention has now shifted toward the next major challenge, which will be the qualification campaign for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
FAZ President Keith Mweemba acknowledged the disappointment felt by players, coaches and supporters following the first-round elimination. He noted that the result was especially painful because Zambia finished the group stage as the highest-scoring team in the group while also conceding the fewest goals. Such statistics reflected the strength of the Copper Queens throughout the competition and demonstrated how competitive Group C had been. Despite these achievements, the tournament’s qualification rules ultimately prevented Zambia from advancing to the knockout stage. Mweemba said the circumstances surrounding the elimination were unfortunate, but emphasized that they remained part of the rules governing the competition.
The FAZ President praised the Copper Queens and the technical bench for their commitment and determination throughout the tournament. He commended the players for giving their best in every match despite facing one of the toughest groups in the competition. According to Mweemba, there was no reason to question the effort or professionalism displayed by the squad during the tournament. Instead, he described the group’s outcome as the result of an exceptionally competitive section that many regarded as the tournament’s “group of death.” While acknowledging that the rules cannot be debated, he admitted that many had hoped for a different conclusion to such a closely contested group.
Zambia’s performances during the tournament provided several positive moments that supporters can take pride in despite the disappointing outcome. The Copper Queens displayed attacking quality throughout the competition and consistently created scoring opportunities against strong opposition. Their ability to score goals while maintaining one of the best defensive records in the group highlighted the balance within the team. These performances reinforced Zambia’s growing reputation as one of the leading forces in women’s football on the African continent. Although qualification slipped away on fine margins, the team’s overall displays suggested that it remains capable of competing with the continent’s best.
With the WAFCON campaign now over, FAZ has turned its attention to the upcoming qualification journey for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Mweemba revealed that Zambia will begin its Olympic qualification campaign in October with two matches against Uganda in the first of five knockout rounds. The qualification process will require consistency, resilience and strong performances over several rounds if Zambia hopes to secure a place at the Olympic Games. The FAZ leadership believes the experience gained at WAFCON will help the team prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. Building on the lessons learned from the tournament will be essential as the Copper Queens pursue another appearance on the global stage.
The Football Association of Zambia also plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the team’s WAFCON campaign. According to Mweemba, a thorough postmortem will be carried out to identify strengths, weaknesses and areas that require improvement before future competitions. The review process will allow the association and technical team to evaluate tactical decisions, player performances and overall tournament preparation. Learning from both successes and setbacks is viewed as an important part of building a stronger national team capable of achieving even greater results. FAZ believes that continuous evaluation will help the Copper Queens remain competitive in future continental and international tournaments.
Mweemba also expressed gratitude to the Zambian people for the unwavering support shown to the national team throughout the tournament. He said the encouragement from supporters across the country provided motivation for the players to continue fighting until the final whistle in every match. The FAZ President also thanked the Zambian Government and Konkola Copper Mines for supporting the team’s participation at the tournament. He pledged that the association would honor this support by working hard to secure qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The backing from both public and private partners remains an important factor in the continued growth of women’s football in Zambia.
The Copper Queens’ exit from the 2026 WAFCON also carried additional significance because the tournament serves as a qualification pathway for the Brazil 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The semifinalists automatically earn places at the world’s biggest women’s football tournament, making every match highly competitive and extremely important. Although Zambia narrowly missed the opportunity to continue its campaign, the team demonstrated that it has the talent and determination to compete against Africa’s strongest sides. The disappointment of missing out on both the knockout stage and the World Cup qualification pathway will undoubtedly motivate the players ahead of future competitions. With FAZ already focusing on Olympic qualification, the Copper Queens have an opportunity to regroup, apply the lessons learned and continue building toward even greater achievements on the international stage.