The Government has expressed disappointment with the performance of the Zambia Senior Men’s National Football Team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) currently taking place in Morocco.
Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts, Hon. Elvis C. Nkandu, MP, said the government was not satisfied with the showing of the national team, particularly given Zambia’s history as former African champions.
Nkandu said the players did not show enough character, patriotism, sense of responsibility, and will to win that is expected when one wears the national jersey.
“I am disappointed by the performance of our boys. We need to immediately start reorganising ourselves. Our players did not show the required character, patriotism, sense of responsibility, and will to win that is expected when one wears the national jersey,” said the Minister.
“This is not a good showing for former champions. We urge the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), the technical bench, and the players to introspect and ask themselves if these are the results they truly wanted for the country,” he added.
The Minister has further reminded stakeholders that there were very rich submissions made during the National Football Indaba convened on the 1st and 2nd of December, which must now be fully utilised.
The Minister expressed concern that the performance of the senior men’s national team leaves a lot to be desired.
“We need to tap into the very rich submissions from the Indaba. Those recommendations were meant to guide reforms in Zambian football, and this performance shows that implementation can no longer be delayed,” Hon. Nkandu emphasised.
“The growth of our junior national teams is commendable. However, the senior men’s team has not matched that progress, and this is an issue that must be urgently addressed.”
Zambia’s AFCON campaign came to a disappointing end as the Chipolopolo Boys were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by Morocco, bowing out of the tournament at the group stage.
