The Zambia national football team represents Zambia in men's international association football and it is governed by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). During the 1980s, they were known as the KK 11, after founding president Dr. Kenneth Kaunda ("KK") who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991. After the country adopted multiparty politics, the side was nicknamed Chipolopolo, the "Copper Bullets".[3] The team has three Africa Cup of Nations final appearances to its credit, winning the 2012 tournament with victory over Ivory Coast in the final. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals.[4]
Zambia's first official match, following their acceptance into FIFA, was played on July 3, 1964, at home against Tanzania, which ended with a victory for the Chipolopolos 1–0. "Chipolopolos" is the nickname of the Zambian team, which means "Copper Bullets" due to the abundance of copper in Zambia. During the match, Zambia was not yet independent as Zambian independence from the United Kingdom occurred on the October 24, 1964. On November 22, 1969, Zambia suffered one of the two biggest defeats in its history against DR Congo 10–1. Since the 1970 World Cup qualifiers, Zambia has failed to qualify for a World Cup finals tournament.
African Cup of Nations 1974[]
After two previous attempts to participate in the African Cup of Nations, the Zambia national football team succeeded in qualifying for the first time in 1974. In the first round, they beat Côte d'Ivoire (1–0, goal from ), lost against Egypt (1-3, goal from Godfrey Chitalu) and beat Uganda (1–0, goal from Obby Kapita), finishing second in the group and qualified for the semi-finals, where they beat Congo (4–2, a Bernard Chanda hat-trick and goal). In the final, Zaire and Zambia drew 2-2 (goals from and Brighton Sinyangwe) and had to have a replay for the title but, two days after the first match, Zambia lost 2-0 and saw their title aspirations disappear. However this was viewed with great pride considering it was their first participation in the tournament.
1974–1993[]
After their appearance in the final in 1974, the Zambian football team failed to qualify for the following tournament in 1976. In 1978, Zambia was eliminated in the first round with a single victory (2–0 against Burkina Faso, goals from Patrick Phiri and Bizwell Phiri), a draw (0–0 against Nigeria) and a defeat (1–2 against Ghana, goal from Obby Kapita). In 1980, they failed to qualify; but in 1982 they again reached the semi-finals and took third place, beating Algeria, having lost to Libya in the semis. In 1984, Zambia did not qualify; in 1986, they reached the first round with a point collected against Algeria (0–0). In 1988, they did not qualify. In 1990, after finishing first in the group, Zambia lost in the semi-finals against Nigeria, but beat Senegal (1–0, goal from Webster Chikabala) to collect third place. In 1992, Zambia was beaten in the quarters by Côte d'Ivoire (0-1). This period shows that Zambia is a good footballing power but it shows irregularity in a few first rounds and non-qualifiers.
Zambian Air Force Flight 319[]
Main article: 1993 Zambia national football team air disaster
Tragedy struck the Zambian team when the military plane (REG: AF-319) transporting the team to Senegal for a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier crashed late in the evening, on April 27, 1993. Three stops were planned for re-fuelling, but at the first stop, in Brazzaville, engine problems were noted on the Buffalo DHC-5D of the Zambia Air Force. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after take-off from Libreville, Gabon, where the second stopover had taken place, one of the engines caught fire and stopped. The pilot, who had already made a flight from Mauritius the day before, accidentally shut down the engine, which was still running. The loss of power, during the climb after take-off, caused the plane to fall and crash into the water 500m off the coast. All 30 passengers and crew, including 18 players, were killed in the accident.[5]
Team captain and coach Kalusha Bwalya was not on board. Held in the Netherlands for a match with his club, PSV Eindhoven, he was to join Senegal separately for the qualifying match. A new team was quickly created, coached by Kalusha: he had the difficult task of leading Zambia through qualification for the FIFA World Cup and then preparing for the qualifications for the next Africa Cup of Nations. It was probably an impossible mission and Zambia did not qualify for the World Cup.
Also on board were the two pilots, the flight crew, the FAZ chairman, a ZANA journalist and a public servant from the Ministry of Sport.[6]
African Cup of Nations 1994[]
In 1994, after a draw against Sierra Leone (0–0), Zambia beat Côte d'Ivoire (1–0, goal from Kenneth Malitoli) and finished first in the group. In the quarterfinals, they beats Senegal (1–0, goal from Evans Sakala), then in the semi-finals, Zambia beat Mali (4–0, goals from Elijah Litana, Zeddy Saileti, Kalusha Bwalya and Kenneth Malitoli). In the final, in Tunis, they faced Nigeria and despite the opening goal of Elijah Litana in the 3rd minute, Nigeria won 2–1.
1994–2012[]
On June 3, 1994, in Brussels, the Zambian football team succumbed to one of its worst losses in its history against Belgium, losing 9–0. At CAN 1996, they finished first in the group with two victories (5–1 against Burkina Faso, goals from Kenneth Malitoli, double from Kalusha Bwalya, goals from Dennis Lota and Johnson Bwalya); 4–0 against Sierra Leone (a hattrick from Kalusha Bwalya and goal from Mordon Malitoli) and a draw (0–0 against Algeria), beat Egypt (3–1) in the quarterfinals and loses in semis against Tunisia (2–4) but took third place over Ghana (1–0, goal from Johnson Bwalya). Kalusha Bwalya was the best in the competition with 5 goals. From 1998 to 2006, Zambia did not pass the first round, except in 2004 when they failed to qualify. On September 3, 2006, at home, Zambia achieved the biggest victory in its history against Djibouti, winning 10–0. During the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Zambia finished third in the group with a 3–0 victory against Sudan (goals by James Chamanga, Jacob Mulenga and Felix Katongo), a draw (1–1 against Egypt, goal from Chris Katongo) and loss (1–5 against Cameroon, goal from Chris Katongo). In 2010, Zambia finished first in her group and faced Nigeria in the quarter-finals where she lost on penalties. Jacob Mulenga and Emmanuel Mbola were included in the tournament's Best XI.[7]
COSAFA Cup[]
The Zambia national football team has participated in the COSAFA Cup in all its editions, and has won it five times in 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013 and 2019) and a six-time losing finalist in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2017 and 2018. In 2005, Collins Mbesuma was the competition's top scorer with 4 goals.
Afican Cup of Nations 2012[]
The football team Zambia finished 1st in their group as they beat Senegal (1-2, goals from Emmanuel Mayuka and Rainford Kalaba) then they shared the points with Libya (2-2, goals from Mayuka and Christopher Katongo) and finally they beat Equatorial Guinea (0-1, goal from C. Katongo). In the quarter-finals, Zambia eliminated Sudan (3-0, goals from Stoppila Sunzu, C. Katongo and James Chamanga). In the semi-finals, Zambia eliminated Ghana 1–0, Emmanuel Mayuka scoring the only goal of the game. In the final, Zambia held Côte d'Ivoire in check (0–0) and won on penalties (8–7).
At the end of this 28th edition of the African Cup, captain Chris Katongo finished best player in competition as well as joint-top scorer with Emmanuel Mayuka for Zambia.
2013–present[]
In 2013, Zambia was eliminated in the first round of CAN 2013 without losing a single match (three draws). Two years later, after complicated qualifiers, Zambia qualifies once again for AFCON but is again eliminated in the first round. Zambia failed to reach the finals for the first time in 13 years for the 2017 competition and losing out to Guinea-Bissau. For CAN 2019 qualification, the Chipolopolos again failed to progress, finishing last with 7 points, one point less than Namibia, in 2nd, and two points fewer than Guinea-Bissau who finished top of the group. It is a huge disappointment for Zambia which misses a 2nd consecutive CAN even though it had won the competition 7 years earlier and was seeded at the time of the draw. The qualifying for the CAN 2022 were also difficult for Zambia, finishing 3rd and a point off of Zimbabwe who occupied the final qualification spot.
Kit provider[]
Kit provider
Period
Nike
2008–2016
2017–2018
2019–present
Recent schedule and results[]
The following is a list of match results from the previous 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
When 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.
(23 December 2021)[1]
Southern Rhodesia 0–4 Northern Rhodesia 
Zambia 11–2 Swaziland 
DR Congo 10–1 Zambia 
Belgium 9–0 Zambia 
Nike
Lesotho 
1
Tunisia 
Boniface Simutowe (1967–1978)
Brian Tiler (1978–80)
Ted Dumitru (1980–81)
(1981–82)
(1983–84)
Roald Poulsen (1993–94)
Ian Porterfield (1994)
Burkhard Ziese (1997–98)
Jan Brouwer (2001)
Hervé Renard (2008–10)
Dario Bonetti (2010–11)
Sven Vandenbroeck (2018–2019)
Milutin Sredojević (2020–2021)
Equatorial Guinea
Mazembe
Arsenal Tula
Azam
AC Horsens
Rangers
Leicester City
Zimbabwe, 29 March 2021
RS Berkane
Cardiff City
1930 to 
1970
1974
1978
1982
1990
1998
2002
2014
2022
1957 to 
1963
1968
1972
1974
1976
1980
1982
1984
1986
1990
1992
1998
2002
2010
2021
2025
1965
1973
1976
1977
1978
1987
1999
2001
2004
2016
