Zambia national football team

The Zambia national football team represents Zambia in men's association football and is governed by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ). During the 1980s, they were known as the KK 11, after founding president Dr. Kenneth Kaunda ("KK") who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991. After the country adopted multiparty politics, the side was nicknamed Chipolopolo which means the "Copper Bullets".^[3] The team won an Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012. This team has also become the most successful team in the COSAFA Cup, surpassing Zimbabwe after winning the 2023 edition.

Tragedy struck the Zambian team when the military plane (REG: AF-319) transporting the team to Senegal for a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier crashed late in the evening, on April 27, 1993. Three stops were planned for re-fuelling, but at the first stop, in Brazzaville, engine problems were noted on the Buffalo DHC-5D of the Zambia Air Force. Despite this, the flight continued, and a few minutes after take-off from Libreville, Gabon, where the second stopover had taken place, one of the engines caught fire and stopped. The pilot, who had already made a flight from Mauritius the day before, accidentally shut down the other engine, which was still running. The loss of power, during the climb after take-off, caused the plane to fall and crash into the water 500m off the coast. All 30 passengers and crew, including 18 players, were killed in the accident.^[4]

On June 3, 1994, in Brussels, the Zambian football team succumbed to one of the worst losses in its history against Belgium, losing 9–0. At CAN 1996, they finished first in the group with two victories (5–1 against Burkina Faso, goals from Kenneth Malitoli, double from Kalusha Bwalya, goals from Dennis Lota and Johnson Bwalya); 4–0 against Sierra Leone (a hattrick from Kalusha Bwalya and goal from Mordon Malitoli) and a draw (0–0 against Algeria), beat Egypt (3–1) in the quarterfinals and loses in semis against Tunisia (2–4) but took third place over Ghana (1–0, goal from Johnson Bwalya). Kalusha Bwalya was the best in the competition with 5 goals. From 1998 to 2006, Zambia did not pass the first round, except in 2004 when they failed to qualify. On September 3, 2006, at home, Zambia achieved the biggest victory in its history against Djibouti, winning 10–0. During the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Zambia finished third in the group with a 3–0 victory against Sudan (goals by James Chamanga, Jacob Mulenga and Felix Katongo), a draw (1–1 against Egypt, goal from Chris Katongo) and loss (1–5 against Cameroon, goal from Chris Katongo). In 2010, Zambia finished first in her group and faced Nigeria in the quarter-finals where she lost on penalties. Jacob Mulenga and Emmanuel Mbola were included in the tournament's Best XI. In 2012, the best AFCON in Zambia history happened. During the tournament's group stage, they defeated Senegal(2–1), drew with Libya (2-2), and defeated Equatorial Guinea (1–0), and qualified top of their group. During the knockout stage, Zambia defeated Sudan (3–0) in the Quarterfinals, beat Ghana in the semifinals (1–0) and went up against Ivory Coast in the final, where they won their first title, after defeating them in a dramatic Penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw after extra time.^[5]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

The following players were called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.^[6]

Caps and goals as of 29 December 2025, after the game against Morocco.

The following players had been called up in 12 months preceding the above draft.

As of 16 December 2025^[7]

Players in bold are still active with Zambia.

• Africa Cup of Nations
  • Champions (1): 2012
  • Runners-up (2): 1974, 1994
  • Third place (3): 1982, 1990, 1996
• African Nations Championship
  • Third place (1): 2009

• COSAFA Cup
  • Champions (7): 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013, 2019, 2022, 2023
  • Runners-up (6): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2017, 2018
  • Third place (1): 2008
• CECAFA Cup
  • Champions (2): 1984, 1991
  • Runners-up (5): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1988, 2006
  • Third place (5): 1973^s, 1974^s, 1981, 1992, 2013

• African National Team of the Year (1): 2012

Notes

• ^s Shared titles.

• Zambian Sports & Football Website Archived 7 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine
• Zambia National Football official Archived 7 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine
• Zambia at FIFA.com (archived 11 June 2007)