With just over 48 hours to go to the Copper Bullets opening match of the 2024 TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship the Chipolopolo are fully settled in Nairobi.
The COSAFA giants yesterday had their full training session at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
Avram Grant’s troops will join the action in East Africa on Thursday when they will take on neighbors, Democratic Republic of Congo at the Nyayo Stadium.
The former Champions suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in their opening match against hosts Kenya while Morocco posted a 2-0 win over Angola in their opening fixtures.
FAZ president Keith Mweemba who is in Nairobi has already assured the team that their remuneration will be taken care of starting with the daily allowances which will be paid today upfront for 15 days as part of motivating the team before their opening match.
Yes Zambia has disappointed on the men’s side in the recent past but everything seems to be lining up for this to be a good outing for them.
Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant who is the head coach will oversee the outing and has been heavily involved in the preparations. This gives players on the fringes of the main Chipolopolo squad to prove a point and state their case to the gaffer for a place in the Upcoming World Cup qualifiers later this year.
The squad is a blend of youth and experience with former Nkana midfielder Kelvin Mubanga Kampamba leading the team.
Mubanga will be key for Grant’s side in the middle of the park and on the wings, his trickery and creativity expected to create problems for the opponents.
At the back the experienced Kabaso Chongo has a backing with fellow Chipolopolo stars like Killian Kanguluma, Dominic Chanda and Benedict Chepeshi.
Young players like Mathews Banda, Happy Nsiku and Timothy Sichalwe bring a youthful and energetic factor to the squad.
This is the Chipolopolo’s fifth appearance at the biannual tournament with their best outing being 2009 when they finished third.
The team will look to better that record and reach the final for the very first time.
It will not be an easy task to reach the final and possibly win the tournament but Chipolopolo has assembled a strong squad with Avram Grant at the helm and FAZ’s assurance on remuneration, there is no reason for this not to be the Chipolopolo’s year.
Before dreaming of a final they have to first get out of Group A where they are grouped alongside hosts Kenya, neighbors Angola and former Champions Congo DR, and Morocco.
Chipolopolo will kick off their CHAN campaign on 7 August against Congo DR, followed by a meeting with Angola on 10 August.
The third match is against Morocco on 14 August, before concluding the group stage with a potentially decisive tie against the hosts Kenya on 17 August.
