Copper Queens Assistant Coach Florence Mwila says that the team is ready to defend their Cosafa Women's Championship title, which they won last year. Zambia will open their campaign against Mozambique in Group B tomorrow in what promises to be a tough encounter for the defending champions. Mwila said that the team is ready and has prepared enough for the challenge. "Yes, we are ready. Coming here, we came prepared as defending champions. It is not easy, as everyone comes prepared to beat the best. All the teams in the group came prepared to beat the best, but we can't relax because we won it. We have to continue winning and defend the title," Mwila said. Zambia went to the competition with only locally based players as the competition falls outside the FIFA calendar. They have 11 players who have never played international football before going into this year's tournament. Mwila said that the team has settled and that the local players who played against Morocco last month have gained experience and exposure, which they will bring to the team. "The team has settled and I would say the local players that played against Morocco gained some experience and exposure. They bring that experience to marry with the new players that haven't played international football before, and it's an opportunity for them to also have the experience of playing at an international level and boost their confidence as they will be able to play against other countries and see if they can also fight for places in the Copper Queens," Mwila said. Mwila said that there is competition within the team and that everyone is pushing, which is good for the team. "There is competition within the team; everyone is pushing and it's good for us because we know that even when we make substitutions, we know that the player coming in will be a game changer. Then we know we have picked the best," Mwila said. The Copper Queens will kick off their campaign against Mozambique at 15:30 hrs on Thursday, 5th October.