Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Andrew Kamanga says the Chipolopolo will aim to qualify for the Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in order to go and rekindle the nation’s past glory days at the tournament.
After making its first AFCON appearance in eight years, Zambia failed to go past the group stage, and is now aiming to return to the continental showpiece to record better results. The AFCON qualifiers kick off in September.
Zambia is in Group G and will once again face the reigning African champions, Ivory Coast, and two other West African nations – Sierra Leone and Chad – in the qualifiers.
In his weekly column on the official FAZ Facebook page, monitored by Zambian Digest, Kamanga described Chipolopolo’s pathway to AFCON as fair, but also laid emphasis on the need for adequate preparations.
“We have just learnt of our opponents for the Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations where we will play Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Chad. It is obviously a fair draw, but what will be more important will be the quality of our preparations,” Kamanga wrote.
He said the Chipolopolo would be going back to the AFCON in a much better position to compete favorably, having gained experience from the last outing in Ivory Coast.
“Having qualified for the last edition, our plan is to sustain our presence on the biggest continental stage. Most importantly, we will be going back to more than just appear but battle for honors,” he wrote.
Kamanga added that the majority of the players that made the 2023 AFCON squad were new to the continental stage and will now be much more familiar with it and ready to fight for honors.
“A lot of players were making their debut in San Pedro and will now be looking to return to the AFCON with bigger ambitions.”
He also called on fans around the country to rally behind the team in its quest to qualify for its 19th AFCON tournament to be staged in Morocco in December next year.
“We urge the public to support our lads in the preparatory journey to the qualifiers.”
The Chipolopolo open their Group G qualification campaign on September 2, when they face the Elephants of Ivory Coast in Abidjan before hosting Sierra Leone in Ndola four days later.
