The Zambia U17 Women’s have set up base in Casablanca ahead of the 2025 U17 Women’s World Cup which kicks off later this month.
The Copper Princesses are already down to work and on the first day they focused on recovery.
DAY1 TRAINING – RECOVERY
Kanyemba wants the team to get goals in the tournament having only managed one last year when they were eliminated in the group stage.
The Green Buffaloes Women’s Football Club assistant coach says scoring goals is the only way the team will progress from the group stage.
“First and foremost, I want to say thanks to God for the traveling mercies.
We were able to arrive in Morocco alive, and we settled in Casablanca very well.
Our first session in the morning, a recovery session where the players were able to get back into their form,
though not fully as we expect them to be,” she said.
“The second session this afternoon, we had it at an official pitch, and the girls still look a bit sluggish because the jet lag is still in them, but we have given them the benefit of doubt.
Coming in tomorrow will be able to work on their cardio so that they’ll be able to get back on their feet.
Travelling for two days, the other day was used for medical, so they stayed about two days without training, and I think that has had an effect on the girls’ levels.”
Kanyemba says the girls have some small knocks but they are not that serious and can be managed.
“In terms of injuries, I can say that 80% of the girls are OK, and some still have knocks, as this is a contact sport.
But going into this tournament, we’re looking at, improving the confidence levels of our girls, and being able to get goals.
From the last tournament, we were not able to score any goals in the tournament,
So we’re looking at how we’re going to get those goals out of this tournament, because we can only proceed from the group stage if we are able to score as a team.”
BILL OF HEALTH
Team Doctor Mwiinga Mupeta says the knocks in the Copper Princesses squad are manageable and not serious.
She says the team is adapting to the diet in Morocco and confirmed that the hosts have been accommodating in trying to give them something closer to their diet back home.
“Obviously this is football there are some injuries that are playable but we’re managing them as best as we can. We’re trying to get them to the best optimal fitness level that we can. The foods obviously there’s had to be some adjustments as you know our diets vary but they’ve been accommodating and trying to give us what’s as nutritious as possible for the girls and still able to tolerate with what they’re used to but we’re doing our best to make sure they’re as fit as possible and that they can perform at their optimum best,” she said.
“That is always the aim, full recovery but as you know with football they’re constantly knocking each other so saying it would be a hundred percent fitness would be unattainable but their fitness level will be at the best so they can perform the best at the tournament. “
“Our key players are safe and they’re all at their best. And the ones that are not, that may sustain some injuries going forward, we’ll make sure that by the tournament, they’re at their best,” she added.
DAY 2- TRANSITION FROM DEFENSE TO ATTACK AND SHOOTING
The team today focused on balancing and how to initiate counter attacks.
Coach Carol Kanyemba said the team is now shaping up and looking better than they did yesterday.
“Today being the second day of our training session, I think the girls this morning looked better than yesterday and they’re shaping up. So far I can say we’re looking better today. We’re still at the same level. The girls are still being worked on. You know, football being a contact sport, you can never play without knocks. But those are knocks that we can easily manage,” she said.
“Today we are looking at the balancing in defense and how we can counter the opponents as they come on us, having superiority in the back and how we can really come out of the back and contribute in attack.”
“We also worked on our finishing from our attackers, how the defenders react to the force that attackers come with,” she added.
Kanyemba wants her lasses to focus on the task ahead and not be distracted by the ‘flashy’ Morocco environment.
She says the team is looking to do better than they did last year and possibly push for individual awards and play coordinated football.
“We expect the girls to be able to concentrate and focus on the tournament. I know there are a lot of things that we don’t have back home that are here that can drive their focus and attention, but we are always telling them to be focused. They came here to make a mark in their talent, in their career, and be able to make a difference. For those that have been here for the second time, we tell them that this is an opportunity for them to rewrite history and make a good impact on the tournament,” she said.
“Most of us, or rather, none of our team members got an award, player of the match, or any award. So our target this year is to be able to win individual awards and be able to play coordinated football as a team and get better results. So we’ve told them that everything starts from training. You put in your best during training, expect the best on match day,” she added.
Prior to the World Cup the Copper Princesses will face Cameroon, Canada and Colombia on 09, 12 and 14 October, 2025 in behind closed door international friendly matches.
Zambia will play their opening match on 19 October against Paraguay at the Football Academy Mohammed VI (Pitch 3) in Sale before facing Japan three days later at the same venue.
Their final game will be against New Zealand at the Football Academy Mohammed VI (Pitch 2).
The top two teams in each group will qualify to the knockout stages of the tournament.
