2023 ABSA Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Zambia |
| Dates | 11 March – 25 April |
| Teams | 8 |
| Defending champions | NAPSA Stars |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Forest Rangers (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Maestro United Zambia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 9 (1.5 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Cephas Mulombwa (3 goals) (Forest Rangers) |
The 2023 Absa Cup was the 16th edition of the annual knock-out competition in Zambian football contested by the top 6 teams from the Super League and the top 2 teams from the National Division One following the conclusion of match day 17 of the 2022–23 season.[1] It was also the 4th edition under the "Absa Cup" name following Absa's completed acquisition of the African assets and operations of Barclays in 2018.[2][3]
NAPSA Stars were defending champions after defeating Red Arrows 1–0 to win the previous edition's title.[4][5][6] but failed to qualify for this edition after finding themselves in 11th place in the standings mid-season.
The video assistant referee (VAR) was introduced to the competition and implemented on a pilot basis at this edition's final,[7] which was a first in Zambian football and Sub-Saharan African football as a whole and thus put Zambia on the list as the 3rd African country after Morocco and Egypt to introduce and implement VAR in domestic football matches.[8] Head of referees at FAZ, Aziph Banda, cited the inadequacy of FIFA-certified referees to operate it, with female referee Diana Chikotesha being the only exception having previously experienced its usage at the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations and Janny Sikazwe having retired from professional refereeingas the reason why the association appointed foreign referees solely for that final,[9] which was won by Forest Rangers
Draw
[edit]At the conclusion of match day 17 of the 2022–23 Zambian football season, the Super League table's top 6 positions consisted of Forest Rangers, Red Arrows, Power Dynamos, Green Buffaloes, Green Eagles and Maestro United and the National Division One table's top 2 positions consisted of Mufulira Wanderers and Trident FC.[10]
The draw was held at a relocated headquarters of Absa Bank Zambia in Lusaka[11] on 1 March 2023.[1][12][13][14][15] Green Buffaloes, Green Eagles, Red Arrows and Power Dynamos were seeded by virtue of their performances in the previous editions of the Absa Cup with Mufulira Wanderers, Trident FC, Maestro United and Forest Rangers being unseeded.[1][13][14][15]
Bracket
[edit]| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 11 March 13:00 Woodlands Stadium | ||||||||||
| Green Buffaloes | 0 | |||||||||
| 8 April Arthur Davies Stadium | ||||||||||
| Forest Rangers | 1 | |||||||||
| Forest Rangers | 2 | |||||||||
| 11 March 11:00 Woodlands Stadium | ||||||||||
| Power Dynamos | 1 | |||||||||
| Power Dynamos | 1 | |||||||||
| 20 May Woodlands Stadium | ||||||||||
| Mufulira Wanderers | 0 | |||||||||
| Forest Rangers | 2 | |||||||||
| 12 March 13:00 Woodlands Stadium | ||||||||||
| Maestro United Zambia | 0 | |||||||||
| Green Eagles | 0 | |||||||||
| 9 April Arthur Davies Stadium | ||||||||||
| Trident FC | 1 | |||||||||
| Trident FC | 0 | |||||||||
| 12 March 15:00 Woodlands Stadium | ||||||||||
| Maestro United Zambia | 1 | |||||||||
| Red Arrows | 0 | |||||||||
| Maestro United Zambia | 2 | |||||||||
Matches
[edit]Kick-off times listed are in CAT (UTC+02:00).
Quarter-finals
[edit]| Green Buffaloes | 0–1 | Forest Rangers |
|---|---|---|
| Report |  64' Cephas Mulombwa |
| Power Dynamos | 1–0 | Mufulira Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| 39' Jacob Kaunda |
Report |
| Green Eagles | 0–1 | Trident FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report | 84' Peter Musukuma |
| Red Arrows | 0–2 | Maestro United Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Semi-finals
[edit]| Power Dynamos | 1–2 | Forest Rangers |
|---|---|---|
| 6' Fredrick Mulambia |
Report |
|
Final
[edit]| Forest Rangers | 2–0 | Maestro United Zambia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Prize allocation and logistics
[edit]Absa Bank Zambia announced a tournament prize and logistical monetary increment a day before the draw ceremony, i.e. on 28 February 2023 which are as follows:[1][16][11]
| Reason | Amount |
|---|---|
| Qualified teams | K20,000 |
| Travel grant |
|
| Champions | K700,000 |
| Runners-up | K350,000 |
| Top-scorer | K25,000 |
| Golden Glove | |
| Player of the Tournament | K25,000 |
| Coach of the Tournament | K25,000 |
| Man of the Match | K25,000 |
| Source[1] | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "2023 ABSA Cup draw set for Wednesday". ZamFoot. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
The eight teams involved in the 2023 Absa Cup comprise the top six clubs from MTN Super League and the top two FAZ National Division One clubs as of Week 17.
- ^ "Barclays Africa Group Relaunches as Absa Group with a Fresh New Look" (Press release). Absa. 1 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Zambia : Barclays Bank Zambia PLC officially becomes Absa Bank Zambia PLC". Lusaka Times. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "NAPSA Stars stun Red Arrows to win the ABSA Cup". ZamFoot. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Napsa deny Arrows double to win ABSA Cup". African Football. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Napsa Stars Win 2022 ABSA Cup". Africa Press. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "VAR for the 2023 ABSA Cup final?". ZamFoot. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Tutu, Arnold (27 May 2023). "VAR To Be Used During ABSA Cup Final". ZNBC. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Chikenge, Calvin Kaumba (27 May 2023). "FAZ explains why the ABSA Cup final was not officiated by Zambians with VAR in use". Bolanews. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "2023 Absa Cup Quarter Finalists revealed". ZamFoot. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Zambia : Absa Bank increases package for Absa Cup by K400,000". Lusaka Times. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
...during the unveiling of the 2023 edition at the new Absa headquarters near the Lusaka showgrounds.
- ^ "ABSA Cup: 2023 ABSA Cup launched… Sponsorship upped by 10 percent". ZamFoot. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Zambia : 2023 ABSA Cup Draws To Be Made On Wednesdsay". Lusaka Times. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ a b Dube, Godfrey (3 March 2023). "Mighty draws Power in ABSA Cup". Zambia News Diggers. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ a b "2023 ABSA Cup Draws To Be Made On". Frontlines Zambia. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ Dube, Godfrey (2 March 2023). "Absa Cup gets K4.4m". Zambia News Diggers!. Retrieved 8 March 2023.