11 Women’s clubs in Zambia have received a whooping K4,462,252 ($168,387) as part of the Club Benefits Programme resulting from the Copper Queen’s participation at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The payment to clubs that had players in the Copper Queens squad at the World Cup comes after football world governing body FIFA completed the calculation of the benefit amounts of the Club Benefits Programme of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The clubs include FAZ Women’s Super League champions Green Buffaloes, Bauleni United, BUSA FC, Elite Ladies FC, Indeni Roses, Luyando Foundation Girls and Nkwazi Queens.
Other clubs include Air Ladies Red Arrows Women FC, Solwezi Academy Queens, YASA Queens FC, ZESCO Ndola Girls and ZISD Queens.
Arrows will enjoy a fair share of the block amount having had the most players in the Copper Queens final squad at the World Cup led by Margaret Belemu, Mary Mulenga, Mary Wilombe, Susan Banda, Ochumba Oseke Lubanji and Hellen Mubanga.
They are followed by Buffaloes who had Martha Tembo, Lushomo Mweemba, Agness Musesa, Hellen Chanda and Ireen Lungu.
Elite Ladies FC media officer Rhoda Sakala confirmed the club’s receipt of the funds on Thursday afternoon, describing the transaction as resourceful as it made the club one of the first in the country to receive benefit funds from FIFA.
“The Elite Ladies FC was compensated for the participation of Comfort Selemani and Xiomara Mapepa in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. As a result, Solwezi Academy, which developed Comfort Selemani before we signed her, and Nkwazi Queens/Chibolya Queens, who developed Xiomara Mapepa before we signed her,” Sakala explained in a statement availed to the media Friday morning.
“We thank the Football Association of Zambia, led by Mr Andrew Kamanga and managed by Mr Reuben Kamanga, for the enabling environment in which we have managed to run our clubs and develop players who have been given a fair chance to participate at such tournaments as the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
Sakala said the club has pledged to continue with the development of players for the benefit of the nation and of the players themselves.
Separately, all players that made the final squad received $30,000. The FIFA World Cup Club Benefits Programme was designed to recognise the contribution which football clubs make to the success of staging the FIFA World Cup.
Under the Programme which was established for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
A share of the benefits from the successful hosting of a FIFA World Cup is distributed via the national associations to the clubs of the players who participate in the FIFA World Cup.
The Copper made their debut at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup making history recording their first win despite being eliminated in the first round.
Lushomo Mweemba became the first Zambian to score at a Senior World Cup, male or female while Barbra Banda scored the 1000th goal in Women’s World Cup history.
Thanks