The Women's Zebras have been pitted in an exciting group for this year's edition of the COSAFA Women Championships scheduled for September 12 to 22, 20180 in the city of Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa.

In a draw conducted this morning in Johannesburg, the Zebras were picked in Group A alongside, the hosts, regional powerhouses, Malawi and Madagascar.

The draw will bring harsh memories to local football fans, as once again the Zebras will face perennial tormentors, South Africa's Banyana Banyana. The Zebras have never won an official game against their neighbours at any age group level as the last encounter between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw in the last COSAFA tournament held in Zimbabwe.

The Zebras needed a win to advance through to the semi finals but it was Banyana who topped the group and finished as champions for

Madagascar will appear for the second time having missed the first four installments of the regional showpiece with the country only recently having played their first official international. Their first official FIFA-sanctioned match was a 3-1 loss to Botswana in the qualifiers for the African Women's Championships in 2015.

The draw:

Group A

South Africa, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi

Group B

Zambia, Lesotho, Cameroon, Mozambique

Group C

Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Namibia, Uganda