The Untold Story of Willie ‘Orlando’ Kunda (Part One)

|By Jerry Muchimba, Renowned Zambian football historian and author|

Zambian football has been graced by great goal scorers such as Godfrey Chitalu, Bernard Chanda, Alex Chola, Peter Kaumba, Ashios Melu, Stone Nyirenda, Kenneth Malitoli and Kelvin Mutale. But before all these came to prominence, a young striker by the name of Willie Kunda took the local league by storm, scoring goals with ease and recording an impressive haul of trophies with ‘Mighty’ Mufulira Wanderers. Those who watched him play contend that he was one of deadliest strikers the country has ever seen and although his career was short-lived, he left an indelible mark, scoring four goals in a single game for Zambia against Kenya in December 1964 and emerging as the league’s top scorer in consecutive seasons in the mid-1960s. 

Kunda was born in Mufulira in 1945 and he started playing football at the age of five with other other children in Kantanshi township. He was inspired by his father Pascal Saikolo Kunda who featured as a left half-back for Mufulira Tigers Football Club, which later became Mufulira Blackpool. Whenever there was a football match in Mufulira, Pascal would follow the action on his bicycle and take his son with him. The boy enjoyed watching his father and other players, particularly Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu who was already playing for Mufulira Mine Team. Little did Kunda know that he would one day line up alongside the Zambian great.

Kunda attended Kankoyo Primary where he was soon made captain of the school team. It was during his time there that he joined Lubuto Youth Club. He later proceeded to Kantanshi Secondary School where he showed that he was a special talent. Wanderers’ players Patrick Nkole and Elijah Mwale spotted him playing for Lubuto and wasted no time in recommending him to Wanderers coaches and he joined their reserve side in 1962. 

He made his debut for the senior side as a right winger in the 1963 season at the age of 17. Despite his tender age, his clinical finishing soon saw him being entrusted with the centre-forward position and the formidable frontline of Kunda, “Zoom,” Laurent Chishala, Kenneth Simwanza and Elijah Mwale proved more than a match for any defence as Wanderers emerged Zambian National Football League champions at the end of the season.

Soon after the country’s affiliation to FIFA in June 1964, Kunda was named in the Northern Rhodesia national team that travelled to Malawi for that country’s independence celebrations the following month. Despite his inexperience, he did not look out of place as he led the line. It took him only eight minutes to open the scoring in a 3-0 win over Tanganyika and two more when Northern Rhodesia thrashed the hosts 5-0 to lift the Ufulu Cup in Blantyre. Despite this, he was left out of the Zambian team during the country’s independence tournament in October 1964. It was a tournament to forget as Zambia, Zambia lost all their games and finished bottom of the standings behind Ghana, Uganda and Kenya.

He returned to the team when Zambia travelled to Nairobi for the Kenyan Republic Cup two-match series, with the local media predicting that it would be plain-sailing for their team, based on the Harambee Stars 3-2 victory over the hosts during Zambia’s independence tournament. Kunda watched from the bench as Zambia were beaten 4-2 but with Zambia’s coaching bench eager to add some firepower to the frontline, he was named in the lineup for the second match.

The Kenyans expected a walk in the park but Kunda had studied their defence’s weaknesses during the first game. It took him less than five minutes to open the scoring after an interchange of passes with Ndhlovu and Sewell, with a shot that went over the heads of Kenyan defenders and landed in the net. He would score three more times as Zambia ran out 8-2 winners to lift the trophy. Kunda emerged as the leading goal scorer in the league though a formal award would only be introduced in the 1968 season. (To be continued)