YOUNG STARS SCHOOLED
…Chamanga, Singuluma lecture footballers
FORMER International strikers James Chamanga and Given Singuluma have urged the current generation of national team players to work very hard when summoned for national team duty to restore Zambia’s status as a big footballing country. Chamanga, a 2012 AFCON winner, observed that Zambia had failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Africa Cup because young players didn’t wear the national team jersey with pride. Chamanga who featured for National Assembly and Zanaco before he trekked to South Africa where he featured for Bush Bucks FC, Moroka Swallows and SuperSport United, said it was unfortunate that Zambia has continued to fire coaches when young players were also contributing to the team’s failures.
“Young players are not having the pride to wear the jersey, us we used to fight to wear the jersey, we were dropped so many times and we never gave up.’’
He said players should be determined to fight for their country when they wear national colours because Zambia was a great footballing nation with massive talent. “You need to have more pride to wear the green and orange jersey. We keep on changing the coaches’ every time, we have had local coaches like Coach Wedson Nyirenda who almost took us to the world cup but we keep on missing out on opportunities because of the young players. “Young players are not having the pride to wear the jersey, us we used to fight to wear the jersey, we were dropped so many times and we never gave up. “We had to work hard every time we are called so my advice to the young ones is that they need to have the pride to wear the jersey,” said the former star who joined Red Arrows after his 10 year spell in China where he played for Dalian Shide and Liaoning FC. Chamanga who is currently second on the top scores chart in the Super Division with 14 goals, one goal behind league top scorer Baba Basile from Lusaka Dynamos FC, said his time to play for the national team was up and it was now time for the young players. Meanwhile 2010 Club World Cup silver medalist, Given Singuluma said young players should not be satisfied with national team summons but work hard to give their best at the national team. Singuluma who won eight Congolese titles, three CAF Champions Leagues and two confederations Cup trophies with TP Mazembe, also encouraged young people to invest their income in property because football was a short time career. “Football is a short time career so the best thing they can do is to invest more because the more invest the better for your future,” Singuluma said. Singuluma was the top scorer at the inaugural Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament in Ivory Coast after he scored five goals.