Mercy Chipasula’s Copper Queens’ debut a motivation for U17 teammates – Kanyemba 

Zambia U17 National Women’s team head coach Carol Kanyemba believes Mercy Chipasula making it to the senior National Team is a motivation factor for her U17 teammates. 

Chipasula was introduced by Coach Nora Elizabeth Häuptle in the Copper Queens 3-2 loss to the Scorchers of Malawi and went on to assist Rachel Nachula’s goal. 

Kanyemba feels Chipasula will has brought back experience from the senior team which will help the team work hard. 

“It is encouraging to see one of our products, Mercy (Chipasula) being featured in the senior women’s team. It gives us so much confidence and gives the girls the courage to work hard for them to make it,” Kanyemba said.

“She brings back experience from that level as she was competing against the best players in the world so even as she comes here, she will bring in competition for the other girls to work hard and emulate what she has achieved.”

Kanyemba has 25 players in camp who she says are doing well and responding to training ahead of next months’ FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

“We have 25 players in camp and the girls are responding well. We are doing what we have been doing always and we are glad that we have some of the players that played the COSAFA tournament and some new players that are showing a lot of positivity and they are blending well with the team,” Kanyemba told the ZamFoot Crew. 

The team is currently preparing to face Tanzania in the second round of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers. 

The Copper Princesses will travel to the East African country for the first leg on 

March 9 before hosting the Serengeti Girls in Ndola a week later. 

The match is a repeat of the 2024 World Cup qualifiers where Zambia thrashed Tanzania with a commanding 5-1 aggregate victory en-route to sealing their second World Cup spot.

“This fixture is very tricky and very difficult but we are going to encourage the girls because we want to make a record and return to the World Cup,” Kanyemba said.

“They are coming back with a heart of vengeance and we know that it’s not going to be an easy game so we have to work extra hard. We have to start away, the team has to work extra hard and collect maximum points from the away fixture so that it will be easy to play our home game.”