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. 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.
| 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) |
NAPSA Stars were defending champions after defeating Red Arrows 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 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. 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, which was won by Forest Rangers