The 2023

Absa Cup The ABSA Cup, formerly the Barclays Cup, is the current branding for an association football cup competition launched in 2007 by the Football Association of Zambia. Participants are decided half-way through current season (match day 17) and a ...

was the 16th edition of the annual knock-out competition in

Zambian football The sport of football in the country of Zambia is run by the Football Association of Zambia. The association administers the national male and female teams, as well as the Premier League, and the Women Super Division. 1993 Zambia national footba ...

contested by the top 6 teams from the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

and the top 2 teams from the National Division One following the conclusion of match day 17 of the 2022–23 season. It was also the 4th edition under the "Absa Cup" name following Absa's completed acquisition of the African assets and operations of

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

in 2018.

NAPSA Stars NAPSA Stars is a Zambian football club based in Lusaka that plays in the Zambia Super League. They play their home games at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka. Previously known as Profund Warriors, the club is named after and sponsored by the National P ...

were defending champions after defeating

Red Arrows The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams ...

1–0 to win the previous edition's title. 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, which was a first in

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. Head of referees at FAZ, Aziph Banda, cited the inadequacy of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

-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 The 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations ( ar, كأس الأمم الإفريقية للسيدات 2022, french: Coupe d'Afrique des nations féminine 2022), (also referred to as WAFCON 2022) officially known as the 2022 TotalEnergies Women's Afric ...

and Janny Sikazwe having retired from professional refereeingas the reason why the association appointed foreign referees solely for that final, which was won by

Forest Rangers ''The Forest Rangers'' is a Canadian television series that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was a co-production between CBC Television and ITC Entertainment and was Canada's first television show produced in colour. Executive producer Maxine Samuel ...

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

Power Dynamos Power Dynamos is a Zambian football club based in Kitwe that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Arthur Davies Stadium in Kitwe. The club is currently sponsored by Copperbelt Energy Corporation. Power Dynamos is ...

, Green Buffaloes,

Green Eagles Green Eagles Football Club is a Zambian football club based in Choma, Zambia that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. The club finished the 2016 season in 11th place. There has been notable resurgence by the club, which has shifted the power b ...

and Maestro United and the National Division One table's top 2 positions consisted of

Mufulira Wanderers Mufulira Wanderers are Zambia's most successful football club, based in the Copperbelt town of Mufulira and currently playing in the Zambia National Division One after their 2019/2020 season relegation. Popularly known as Mighty Mufulira Wan ...

and Trident FC. The draw was held at a relocated headquarters of

Absa Bank Zambia Absa Bank Zambia Plc, formerly Barclays Bank of Zambia, is a commercial bank in Zambia. It is licensed by the Bank of Zambia, the central bank and national banking regulator. Location The headquarters and main branch of Absa Bank of Zambia ar ...

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

on 1 March 2023. 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.

Bracket

Matches

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

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Final

Prize allocation and logistics

announced a tournament prize and logistical monetary increment a day before the draw ceremony, i.e. on 28 February 2023 which are as follows:

References

{{Reflist Football competitions in Zambia 2022–23 in Zambian football 2023 in Zambian sport