You will get what you want despite the situation and location, future is what we create from focus and determination when one is set to accomplish the goal.
Eastern province is not short of talent when it comes to football, notable names who are currently plying their trade abroad at a competitive level include forward Fashion Sakala who is in Belgium who stems from Chiparamba area of Kasenengwa district not forgetting Justine Shonga a Chipata day secondary school graduate who had a stint at smiling kids FC and Chipata young stars before moving out of the province for greener pastures.
You can’t mention all these names from eastern province then you skip Youremember Banda the pride of Petauke district. Born on 3rd May 1996 in Petauke district approximately 150km from the provincial capital, Chipata.
He’s 6th in the family of two boys and six girls. He did his grade one to nine at Petauke basic school after which he moved to Petauke secondary school where he started making a football mark when his school team could go toe-toe with a hard nut to crack Nyimba boarding,Petauke boarding,Chizongwe Technical school and Anoya Zulu boys with his strong presence in the midfield which is attributed to his great agility on the ball, made it difficult for other players to dispossess him on the ball.
A midfielder with a genius mind of both a defender and an attacker who prefers to play as a number 8,9,10 whose superb crosses in the opposition 18 yards box have been a key talking point for his great exploits. He can charge forward with pace, with power being the source of concern for opponents as he is strong like a rock thereby making it difficult to be moved from the ball.
He can easily track back with pace like an electric train and make those vital blocks. The most notable thing about him is the powerful shot which is dangerous like a stick of dynamite. He can score from a long-range.
His first well-established amateur team was chitenge warriors from which he moved upon completion of secondary school and joined Panza FC of Gondar barracks at a tender age who at a time was playing in second-tier FAZ league which was division one south.
It was at Panza FC where he became more mature as he could dictate the tempo of the game. His Panza stint wasn’t a long-lived one as he spent close to two seasons with the army-sponsored outfit before he impressed NAPSA Stars at David Kaunda stadium when they went for 2016 pre-season preparations in Chipata.
His ball distribution was too good for NAPSA Stars to resist the temptation of signing him. After the friendly match, he was approached by Napsa officials and as the saying goes the rest is history.
The ZamFoot Crew caught up with him at his residence in Lusaka West to get more insight into his story.
“When NAPSA Stars came to Chipata for 2016 pre-season, we(Panza FC) played a friendly with them at David Kaunda stadium, and to them, I impressed and that is how coach Wilson Mwale got me,” he said.
He was on the books of the Pensioners for two seasons. He was part of the team that played the finals of the 2017 ABSA cup but lost to Zanaco.
It was NAPSA Stars through him (Youremember Banda) who fired first with a headed strike in the 46th minute past Toaster Nsabata from a Chitoshi Mukuma cross before Zanaco leveled matters from the spot in the 84th minute through Felix Nyaende, sending the match into extra time where NAPSA went on to lose 2-1, Isaac Chansa with the winner in the 108th minute.
It was at this point when Green Buffaloes came for his signature to help them with continental duties as they were one of the clubs that qualified to represent the country in the CAF club competition, he was signed at the end of the 2017 FAZ super league season.
“I was signed by Green Buffaloes following an impressive season with Napsa stars, they (Green Buffaloes) wanted to bolster their CAF confederation cup advancements chances and they asked for my services, I couldn’t resist but rather sign for the club because I was thinking of life after football,” Banda said.
He became the top figure at Green Buffaloes and in the 2018 season he became the club’s top scorer with 9 goals and has gone on to establish himself as one of the dependable players for the army outfit who this season are having difficulties as they have picked up only four wins, ten draws and seven losses with a point tally of 22 from a possible 63 a thing which has put them on 13th position two places above the relegation zone but not all hope is lost for a top-four finish
Youremember Banda is confident the team will fight until the last game
“We will fight hard in the remaining 13 games so that we finish in the top 4, we will do our level best this season till the last game as you know everything is possible in football.”
It is every player’s dream to don the national colors and this wish came true for You remember Banda who was part of the 2019 COSAFA winning Zambia national team under the guidance of Aggrey Chiyangi in South Africa and he played the final which Zambia triumphed Botswana one-nil courtesy of a Tapson Kaseba 78th minute goal.
Due to his long nice name which people sometimes find intriguing, Youremember Banda has been given nicknames. In Eastern province, he used to be called yulu and in the Zambian super league, he is called Euro.
“Both nicknames(yulu and euro) came as a result of people finding it difficult in pronouncing my name, In Eastern province, I was named yulu by the locals, and when I came to the super league and while at Napsa stars, coach Milanzi was failing to call me my name so he was like your name is Euro.”
Football is a sport that involves creating fond memories and having where to draw inspiration from and Youremember Banda was not shy to pinpoint his best football memory and who inspired him to keep going in the football lane.
“I got my football inspiration from a guy who was playing football in Saddam United which is an amateur club in the eastern province, he was such a great player who was skillful and strong on the ball, he was a midfielder and we used to call him Devi Zeyellow,” he said.
“My best football moment came in 2018, A Zesco United against Green Buffaloe’s match which we won 2-0 and I even scored a goal and that was my best moment in football, I enjoyed that game,” he added.
Green Buffaloes will be hoping to turn the tables when the league resumes after the international break.
