Zambia national football team
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| Zambia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Chipolopolo (The Copper Bullets) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Association | Football Association of Zambia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Hervé Renard |
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| Most caps | Kalusha Bwalya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Godfrey Chitalu[citation needed] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Independence Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | ZAM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 67 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 15 (February 1996) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 80 (May 2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Elo ranking | 28 (April 1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 99 (May 2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Southern Rhodesia 0 - 4 Northern Rhodesia  (Southern Rhodesia; 1946) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Zambia 10 - 0 Djibouti  Zambia; 3 September 2006) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Congo DR 10 - 1 Zambia (Congo-Kinshasa; 22 November 1969) .svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Belgium 9 - 0 Zambia (Brussels, Belgium; 3 June 1994) |
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| African Nations Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 13 (First in 1974) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Runners-up, 1974 and 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Zambia national football team represents the country of Zambia and is governed by the Football Association of Zambia. The side is nicknamed Chipolopolo (the Copper Bullets) as copper is one of the southcentral African nation's main exports. The team has two African Nations Cup final appearances to its credit and among its most memorable moments is a 4-0 victory over Italy in the 1988 Olympic football tournament in Seoul, South Korea that saw Kalusha Bwalya score a hat-trick.
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[edit] Gabon air disaster
A tragedy befell the Zambian national football team when the military plane (reg: AF-319) carrying the team to Senegal for a 1994 World Cup qualification match crashed in the late evening of April 27, 1993. The journey required two refuelling stops and at the first stop in Congo engine problems were noted in the Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after taking off from a second stop in Libreville, Gabon one of the engines caught fire and failed. The pilot, who was tired from already having flown back from Mauritius earlier that day, then shut down the wrong engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport and fall into the water 500m offshore.
All 30 passengers and crew, including 18 players, as well as the national team coach and support staff, were lost in the accident. The Chipolopolo's captain and later national team coach, Kalusha Bwalya, was not aboard the ill-fated flight as he was in the Netherlands playing for PSV at that time and had made separate arrangements to make his own way to Senegal to take part in the qualifier match.
[edit] Aftermath of the tragedy
A new side was quickly assembled, and led by Bwalya, faced up to the difficult task of having to complete Zambia's World Cup qualifiers and then prepare for the upcoming African Nations Cup which was only months away.
The resurrected team's final World Cup qualifier pitted them against Morocco in Casablanca in a match requiring the Chipolopolo to come away with at least a tie in order to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Their qualification run ended with a 1-0 defeat after a controversial call by the referee in the closing moments of the game that denied Zambia a penalty shot that could have led to the crucial draw.
At the 1994 African Nations Cup, the new Chipolopolo squad defied the odds, and displaying an offensive playing style, they reached the final against Nigeria. They took the lead in the first half, but the Super Eagles quickly equalized and followed up with the winner in the second half. In spite of the loss, the Zambian side returned home as national heroes.
[edit] List of players killed in the 1993 air disaster
- Efford Chabala (goalkeeper)
- John Soko (defender)
- Whiteson Changwe (defender)
- Robert Watiyakeni (defender)
- Eston Mulenga (midfielder)
- Derby Makinka (midfielder)
- Moses Chikwalakwala (midfielder)
- Wisdom Mumba Chansa (midfielder)
- Kelvin "Malaza" Mutale (striker)
- Timothy Mwitwa (striker)
- Numba Mwila (midfielder)
- Richard Mwanza (goalkeeper)
- Samuel Chomba (defender)
- Moses Masuwa (striker)
- Kenan Simambe (defender)
- Godfrey Kangwa (midfielder)
- Winter Mumba (defender)
- Patrick "Bomber" Banda (striker)
Also among the deceased were National Team managers Godfrey "Ucar" Chitalu and Alex Chola.
[edit] Honors
- COSAFA CUP
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- Champions:1997,1998,2006
- Runners-up:2004,2005
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- CECAFA Cup
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- Champions:1984,1991,2006
- Runners-up:1976,1977,1978,1988,2006
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- African Nations Cup
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- Runners-up:1974,1994
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[edit] World Cup record
As the former British colony of Northern Rhodesia, Zambia did not participate in World Cup qualification play until after its independence in 1964. The country's football association was formed in 1929 and joined FIFA in 1964.
[edit] African Nations Cup record
- 1957 to 1968 - Did not enter
- 1970 - Did not qualify
- 1972 - Did not qualify
- 1974 - Second place
- 1976 - Did not qualify
- 1978 - Round 1
- 1980 - Did not qualify
- 1982 - Third place
- 1984 - Did not qualify
- 1986 - Round 1
- 1988 - Withdrew
- 1990 - Third place
- 1992 - Quarterfinals
- 1994 - Second place
- 1996 - Third place
- 1998 - Round 1
- 2000 - Round 1
- 2002 - Round 1
- 2004 - Did not qualify
- 2006 - Round 1
- 2008 - Round 1
[edit] Current Squad
The following members were called for the friendly match against Iran on May 25, 2008.
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[edit] Recent Call-ups
[edit] Recently Capped Players
(May, 2007)
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Goalkeepers: |
Isaac Chansa |
[edit] External links
- Zambia FA official site
- The Gabon air disaster accident report
- - Zambian Football News
- - FAZ football leagues
- Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Cup of Nations 2008 official site
- Zambian Football Blog
[edit] See also
- The Munich air disaster killed several members of English side Manchester United F.C. in 1958.
- The 1989 crash of Surinam Airways Flight PY764 killed a group of Surinamese players known as "The Colorful 11", whose members played professional football in the Netherlands.
- The Torino A.C. side known as Il Grande Torino that dominated post-war Italian football was lost in an air crash at Superga in 1949.
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International football
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