Leticia Lungu is a goalkeeper who plays for Ndola-based Women’s National League giants ZESCO Ndola Girls under the watchful eye of seasoned coach William Zulu.
Lungu is a product of Evergreen Girls of Ndola who joined ZESCO Ndola Girls in 2018 after an impressive performance and since then, she has been among the best goalkeepers in the league accounting for herself well, especially in the last two seasons and eventually earning herself a spot in the final 23-member Copper Queens squad for Coach Bruce Mwape currently in Morocco preparing for the Women Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is indeed a plus to Lungu.
Lungu is returning to the national team set-up since her first call-up in 2017 with the Zambia Women’s Under-17 National Team that played back-to-back 2018 Uruguay FIFA U-17 World Cup Qualifier against Botswana in which she was the second choice goalkeeper despite the Copper Princesses missing out on the qualification going down 5-6 overall on aggregate and a year later she switched to ZESCO Ndola Girls from Evergreen.
Lungu was the second-choice goalkeeper for ZESCO behind Ngambo Musole but each time she was given a chance when Musole was away on National Duty she was always rose to the occasion.
This season saw her playing more games than before 16 in total and she managed to keep 9 clean sheets for Zegalicious who finished third on the table in Zone A behind second-placed Indeni Roses and eventual champions Green Buffaloes.
This remarkable performance and consistency coupled with her excellent reflex reactions saw her being named in the squad that played against The Rest in a local friendly match and eventually in one of the two back-to-back international friendly matches against Botswana in Lusaka.
It was during this period that Lungu earned her first national team cap on 29th April 2022 after she was introduced in the second half replacing Indeni Roses’ Catherine Musonda in goal at Woodlands Stadium in a match the Copper Queens won 1-0 courtesy of Ochumba Lubandje Oseke’s only goal of the match.
Her second, International cap for the Copper Queens was on Saturday, 28th June 2022 against Moroccan side Phoenix Marrakech Football Club whom they thrashed 6-nil in a friendly match played at Stade Grande Marrakech Stadium.
In Morocco, Lungu will need to work harder as there is stiff competition with the other two goalkeepers who have got vast experience at the National level in Turkish based Hazel Natasha Nali and Indeni Roses’ Catherine Musonda.
Lungu believes that her call-up is a privilege and gives praise to God for the opportunity to represent her country.
“It’s a privilege and honor to be part of the national team squad. I Am humbled to have been allowed to go and represent my country at the continental showpiece. Glory be to God and indeed God is good and his time is the best,” Lungu told Bola Yaku Mwesu.
The 12th edition of the WAFCON will run from 2-23 July 2022 and the Copper Queens are placed in Group B alongside old times Cameroon whom they will face on 3rd July before taking on Tunisia who are making a return after a 14-year absence 3 days later and wrapping up their group match debutants Togo on 9th July.
The semi-finalists from this tournament will automatically earn themselves a spot at next year’s World Cup to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand while two quarter-finalists will play in the inter-continental Play-Offs to fight for another spot for the World’s biggest women’s showpiece.
