2023 ABSA Cup

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]

2023 Absa Cup
Country Zambia
Dates11 March – 25 April
Teams8
Defending championsNAPSA Stars
ChampionsForest Rangers (1st title)
Runners-upMaestro United Zambia
Matches played6
Goals scored9 (1.5 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Cephas Mulombwa (3 goals) (Forest Rangers)
← 2022
2024 →

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

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
 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
11 March 13:00 Woodlands Stadium
 
 
Green Buffaloes0
 
 8 April Arthur Davies Stadium
 
Forest Rangers1
 
Forest Rangers2
 
11 March 11:00 Woodlands Stadium
 
Power Dynamos1
 
Power Dynamos1
 
20 May Woodlands Stadium
 
Mufulira Wanderers0
 
Forest Rangers2
 
12 March 13:00 Woodlands Stadium
 
Maestro United Zambia0
 
Green Eagles0
 
 9 April Arthur Davies Stadium
 
Trident FC1
 
Trident FC0
 
12 March 15:00 Woodlands Stadium
 
Maestro United Zambia1
 
Red Arrows0
 
 
Maestro United Zambia2
 

Matches

Kick-off times listed are in CAT (UTC+02:00).

Quarter-finals
Green Buffaloes0–1Forest Rangers
Report 64' Cephas Mulombwa
Power Dynamos1–0Mufulira Wanderers
39' Jacob Kaunda Report
Woodlands Stadium, Lusaka
Green Eagles0–1Trident FC
Report 84' Peter Musukuma
Woodlands Stadium, Lusaka
Red Arrows0–2Maestro United Zambia
Report
  • 4' Gift Simanansa
  • 22' Andrew Phiri (pen.)
Woodlands Stadium, Lusaka

Semi-finals
Power Dynamos1–2Forest Rangers
6' Fredrick Mulambia Report
  • 70' Wisdom M. Libamba
  • 33' Cephas Mulombwa
Trident FC0–1Maestro United Zambia
Report 81' Whiteson Songwe (o.g.)
Arthur Davies Stadium, Lusaka

Final
Main article: 2023 ABSA Cup final
Forest Rangers2–0Maestro United Zambia
  • 15' Chanda Chileshe (o.g.)
  • 62' Quadri Kola
 Report
Attendance: 10,000

Prize allocation and logistics

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
  • K20,000 (home teams)
  • K30,000 (away teams)
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
  1. "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.
  2. "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.
  3. "Zambia : Barclays Bank Zambia PLC officially becomes Absa Bank Zambia PLC". Lusaka Times. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  4. "NAPSA Stars stun Red Arrows to win the ABSA Cup". ZamFoot. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  5. "Napsa deny Arrows double to win ABSA Cup". African Football. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  6. "Napsa Stars Win 2022 ABSA Cup". Africa Press. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  7. "VAR for the 2023 ABSA Cup final?". ZamFoot. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  8. Tutu, Arnold (27 May 2023). "VAR To Be Used During ABSA Cup Final". ZNBC. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  9. 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.
  10. "2023 Absa Cup Quarter Finalists revealed". ZamFoot. 12 December 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. "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.
  12. "ABSA Cup: 2023 ABSA Cup launched… Sponsorship upped by 10 percent". ZamFoot. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  13. "Zambia : 2023 ABSA Cup Draws To Be Made On Wednesdsay". Lusaka Times. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  14. Dube, Godfrey (3 March 2023). "Mighty draws Power in ABSA Cup". Zambia News Diggers. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. "2023 ABSA Cup Draws To Be Made On". Frontlines Zambia. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  16. Dube, Godfrey (2 March 2023). "Absa Cup gets K4.4m". Zambia News Diggers!. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
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