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Zambia national football team

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Zambia

[[Image:|100px|Shirt badge/Association crest]]

Nickname

Chipolopolo (The Copper Bullets)

Association

Football Association of Zambia

Head coach

Image:Flag of Zambia.svg Patrick Phiri

Most caps

Kalusha Bwalya

Top scorer

Kalusha Bwalya

FIFA code

ZAM

FIFA ranking

Highest FIFA ranking

15 (February 1996)

Lowest FIFA ranking

80 (May 2004)

Elo ranking





Home kit





Away kit

First international
Southern Rhodesia Image:Flag of Southern Rhodesia.svg 0 - 4 Northern Rhodesia Image:Flag of Northern Rhodesia-1939.svg
(Southern Rhodesia; 1946)

Malawi Image:Flag of Malawi.svg 0 - 3 Zambia Image:Flag of Zambia.svg
(Malawi; July 04, 1966)

Largest win
Image:Flag of Zambia.svg Zambia 9 - 0 Kenya Image:Flag of Kenya.svg
(Malawi; 13 November, 1978)

Worst defeat
Image:Flag of Congo Kinshasa 1963.svg Congo DR 10 - 1 Zambia Image:Flag of Zambia.svg
(Congo-Kinshasa; 22 November, 1969)
Image:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 9 - 0 Zambia Image:Flag of Zambia.svg
(Brussels, Belgium; 3 June, 1994)

African Nations Cup

Appearances

12 (First in 1974)

Best result

Second place, 1974 and 1994

The Zambia national football team, nicknamed Chipolopolo ("the Copper Bullets": copper being one of the country's main exports), is the national team of Zambia and is controlled by the Football Association of Zambia. One of the stronger regional teams, in the Seoul Olympic football tournament in 1988, they beat Italy 4-0, with Kalusha Bwalya scoring a hat-trick and making the other goal.

In 1993 the Zambian national team was devastated by the loss of a plane carrying the team off the coast of Gabon. 18 players were killed, along with the national coach and officials and the entire crew, 30 people in total with no survivors.

1 Gabon air disaster
- 1.1 A tragedy's aftermath
- 1.2 List of players killed in the 1993 air disaster
2 Zambia Football Achievements
3 World Cup record
4 African Nations Cup record
5 External links

[edit] Gabon air disaster

In 1993 a tragedy befell the Zambian national football team. During their flight the military plane (reg: AF-319) carrying the team crashed into the ocean after taking off from Gabon in the early hours of the morning on April 28, 1993. The team was on its way to Senegal for a World Cup qualifier, attempting to qualify for the World Cup Finals at USA '94. The journey required two refuelling stops: during the first stoppage in Congo, some engine problems were noted in the Zambian Air Force Buffalo DHC-5D. Few minutes after taking off from the 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 that day, then shut down the wrong engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport, the plane then hit the water 500m offshore.

The entire passenger roster of 18 players and their support staff were lost in the accident, and when news of the accident reached Zambia hours later, the nation was overcome. The captain of the Chipolopolo, Kalusha Bwalya, was not aboard the ill-fated flight as he was playing for PSV at that time and was to make his own way from the Netherlands to Senegal.

[edit] A tragedy's aftermath

Having to complete its World Cup qualifiers, and with the African Nations Cup only months away, the quickly-assembled, and inexperienced new national team were given a difficult task. Kalusha Bwalya and his new Chipolopolo worked hard to rebuild the team. The World Cup qualifiers saw Zambia facing Morocco in Casablanca, with only a single point required for qualification to the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The referee controversially turned down Zambian appeals for a penalty in the closing moments of the match, Zambia lost the match 1-0, and their World Cup chances lost.

At the 1994 African Nations Cup, the new Chipolopolo defied all the odds, and with a free-flowing attacking style, perhaps the best Zambian football in the history of the tournament, they reached the final. Zambia met Nigeria in the final, and took the lead in the first half. However, the Super Eagles equalised quickly, and scored the winner in the second half. Zambia had once again come close to achieving their goal, and fallen at the last hurdle. However, the players returned to Zambia as national heroes.

The death of a beloved national team is considered as one of Zambian football's saddest moments, and the year that followed is remembered as a suitable tribute. However, the families of the football team members that perished have since felt that they were never fully compensated for their personal loss, and this is likely to remain unresolved. Recently, some of the victims' relatives threatened to sue governmental authorities for their lack of candour on the families' issue.