The 2023 ABSA Cup final was an association football match played at Woodlands Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia on May 27, 2022. This highly anticipated match marked the debut appearance in the final for both Forest Rangers and Maestro United. The event was organized by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and represented the 17th final 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 ...

. The tournament involved six 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 two teams from the National Division One, following the conclusion of match day 17 of the 2022–23 season. Notably, this final also marked the fourth occasion that the competition was held under the

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 ...

name. The match stood out as a groundbreaking moment for Zambian football, as it became the first-ever competitive game in the country to feature video assistant referee (VAR) technology. This milestone not only marked Zambia's introduction to VAR but also established the nation as the pioneer of VAR implementation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Remarkably, Zambia joined the ranks of Morocco and Egypt as one of the only three African countries to successfully integrate VAR into their domestic matches. Forest Rangers emerged victorious in the highly anticipated final, securing a notable 2-0 victory over the crowd's favourite, FC MUZA. The match saw

Quadri Kola Quadri is a '' comune'' and town in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #Hi ...

's goal and

Chanda Chileshe Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic met ...

's unfortunate own goal during the first half, which proved sufficient to secure the win for Forest Rangers.

Match

Details

{{Football box , date = 27 May 2023 , time = 15:00 CAT ( UTC+02:00) , team1 = Maestro United Zambia , score = v , report = https://kalemba.news/sports/2023/05/27/fc-muza-players-fans-helpless-hopeless-as-forest-wins-absa-cup-final/ , penaltyscore = , team2 = Forest Rangers , goals1 = , goals2 = {{ubl, {{goal, 15 Chanda Chileshe{{own goal, {{goal, 62 Quadri Kola , penalties1 = , penalties2 = , stadium = Woodlands Stadium , attendance = 10,000 , referee =

Amin Omer Amin may refer to: People * Amin (name), a masculine given name and also a surname * Al-Amin, the sixth Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 809 to 813 * Amin (Qing dynasty), an Imperial Prince of the Qing Dynasty * Amin, an arbitrator who assessed a ...

, event = , round = , score1 = 0 , score2 = 2 , location = Lusaka , motm = Moro Amenu

References

ABSA Cup final 2023 in Zambian sport 2022–23 in Zambian football Football competitions in Zambia