Bolla Zambia, Shangobeka Village, Chinyunyu, Lusaka (2026)

21/09/2026

BACK IN ACTION: Junior Chipolopolo Face Comoros With Sights On Quarter-Final Progression

Zambia U-20 national team will this morning square off with Comoros in their second Group C encounter at the 2026 COSAFA U-20 Challenge in Maputo, Mozambique.

The Junior Chipolopolo are just a win away from securing a spot in the knockout rounds ahead of this morning’s clash at the ABB 2 Stadium.

Perry Mutapa’s side rallied to a 2-0 victory over Malawi in their opening match last Friday and will look to maintain their strong start against the islanders.

Meanwhile, Comoros have the mammoth of task overcoming the record COSAFA champions this afternoon in order to get their campaign on track after playing out to a barren draw against Botswana on Saturday.

Kick-off for this morning’s encounter is at 11-00 hours CAT.

19/09/2026

COPPER QUEENS COACH EXITS: Nora & FAZ Agree to Part Ways

ZAMBIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM coach Nora Hauptlë has left her role after two year in charge of the Copper Queens following a lacklustre outing at the 2026 WAFCON.

FAZ have announced in a statement that it has parted ways with the 41-year old Swiss gaffer on mutual consent.

“FAZ can confirm that it has reached a mutual separation agreement with its senior Women National Team coach Nora Häuptle. After a meeting between FAZ and Häuptle’s representatives, it was agreed that in the interest of progress for both parties they had to separate,” says FAZ General Secretary Charles Chakatazya.

“We would like to sincerely thank Häuptle for her contribution to the Zambian game and wish her all the best in her future endeavours.”

Hauptlë took charge of the Copper Queens in January, 25 after replacing Bruce Mwape.

Photo: FAZ

19/09/2026

BEAT ALGERIA FOR MOTHER ZAMBIA: Chipolopolo Victory Over Algeria Good For Zambia – Lwandamina

ZAMBIA NATIONAL TEAM interim coach George Lwandamina has laid emphasis on the importance of the Chipolopolo carrying the day in Friday’s TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 opening Group I qualifier against Algeria as it will bring pride to the country.

Appointed in an interim capacity last March, Lwandamina has the mammoth task of delivering his first victory against a high-level Algeria side that is wounded after a disastrous 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign.

However, Lwandamina has remained unfazed and says Chipolopolo will equally be gunning for victory in Friday night’s encounter Blida to impress the nation.

“Every team is going into the two games to win and we are not exceptional, a win is a win, be it at home or away and its good for the country,” Lwandamina told reporters in Lusaka yesterday.

Meanwhile, Lwandamina has expressed satisfaction with his squad’s levels of fitness and preparedness as he continues to put the team through its paces in Lusaka before departure for Algeria.

“We were trying to put them together in terms of fitness, we gave them a test and today we ended up with a game just to see how we can push the ball around,” he said.

He added: “[The team] looks so well with those who are here and now we have to wait for the other group to make a full picture but those here have done well.”

Zambia suffered an embarrassing 5-0 loss the last time they faced Algeria in Blida on 14th November, 2019 in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers with Lwandamina part of the Chipolopolo technical bench then led by Aggrey Chiyangi.

Photo: FAZ

19/09/2026

𝐀𝐋𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃: 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬

Chipolopolo’s opponents in Friday’s opening TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 Group I qualifier Algeria have named their squad for the upcoming crucial encounter.

The two-time African champions’ newly-appointed head coach Ibrahim Hamdani has assembled a 25-man squad mainly comprising of less-experienced and debutants as he aims to forge a new chapter following a disastrous 2026 FIFA World Cup outing.

Hamdani who takes charge of his first Algeria match against Zambia on Friday, has left out eleven of the 27-man squad that went to World Cup with former captain Riyad Mahrez as well as defender Aïssa Mandi also among the absentees having retired from international football.

Nonetheless, Hamdani has retained a good deal of stars and experienced players including Manchester City left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri, Amine Gouiri of Olympique Marseille, Feyenoord’s Anis Hadj Moussa and in-form Hull City forward Bachir Belloumi among others.

The Desert Foxes will host Zambia next Friday, 25 September at 21:00 CAT in Blida before heading out to face Burundi on 29 September away in Bujumbura.

Full Algeria squad:

• Goalkeepers
Melvin Mastil (FC Lausanne-Sport Adelatif Ramdane (MC Alger/Algeria), Killian Belazzoug (Stade Rennais/France)

• Defenders
Achraf Abada (USM Alger, Algeria), Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City, England), Zineddine Belaïd (Al-Taawoun, Saudi Arabia), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Samir Chergui (Paris FC, France), Jaouen Hadjam (Brighton & Hove Albion, England), Souhaib Naïr (AS Saint-Étienne, France), Saâdi Radouani (USM Alger, Algeria), Ahmed Touba (Le Havre AC, France)

• Midfielders
Himad Abdelli (Olympique Marseille, France), Adil Aouchiche (FC Schalke 04, Germany), Nabil Bentaleb (LOSC Lille, France), Farès Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany), Adem Zorgane (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium)

• Forwards
Mohamed Amine Amoura (OGC Nice, France), Monsef Bakrar (Al Ahly SC, Egypt), Bachir Belloumi (Hull City, England), Adil Boulbina (Al-Duhail SC, Saudi Arabia), Amin Chiakha (Rosenberg BK, Denmark), Amine Gouiri (Olympique de Marseille, France), Anis Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Ilan Kebbal (Paris FC, France)

Photos: FAF

19/09/2026

𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐀 𝐔𝟐𝟎 𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘: 𝐃𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐢

ZAMBIA U-20 NATIONAL TEAM have gotten their 2026 COSAFA U-20 Championship campaign off to a perfect start as they delivered a 2-0 win over Malawi in Maputo, Mozambique yesterday.

The Perry Mutapa-tutored Junior Chipolopolo left it until the final 10 minutes of the match to put off the Junior Flames of Malawi thanks to a brace by striker & second-half substitute Billy Daka.

Daka who came off the bench in the second-half, put Mutapa’s charges ahead with a powerful header off a pinpoint Jonathan Kalimina cross in the 80th minute to dislodge the Malawi side.

The Nkwazi striker would then double the lead and complete his brace to seal Junior Chipolopolo’s victory with a close range finish in the 90th minute.

The Junior Chipolopolo will now shift their focus to Comoros whom they come up against on Monday before wrapping up their Group C business against Botswana on Wednesday.

The two teams that reach the final will earn Southern Africa’s places at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Ghana 2027, which will be staged in February and March next year.

Photos: COSAFA

19/09/2026

“𝐖𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬” – 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨’𝐬 𝐀𝐅𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚, 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐬

ZAMBIA NATIONAL TEAM captain Fashion Sakala says the Chipolopolo are setting their sights on back-to-back victories over Algeria and Togo to set the qualification tone for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027.

Chipolopolo begin their Group I AFCON 2027 qualification campaign with a tricky away encounter in Blida, Algeria next Friday as they take on Les Fennecs before returning home to host Togo in Ndola four days later.

Speaking in an interview ahead of the two crucial encounters, Sakala outlined the importance of collecting maximum points in both matches for the Chipolopolo in order to be in contention for qualification.

“The overall picture for us is to win these two games, I think it’ll be very important. We have to advance from this group and I believe that each and every player is ready give their best,” Sakala told reporters shortly after the team’s training session in Lusaka yesterday.

Despite having failed to win a match since October, 2025, the Saudi-based Al-Fayha SC star further expressed assurance over the Chipolopolo’s ability to deliver victories over the two-time African champions, Algeria, on Friday night as well as, Togo in Ndola next week.

“We are very much excited and we are confident that we going to give the best we can and obviously get the three points, that’s what we want,” Sakala said.

Sakala also declared his side fit and prepared for Friday night’s encounter in Blida where the Chipolopolo are set to fine-tune their preparations as the rest of the foreign-based players join camp to complete the roaster currently camped in Lusaka.

“We’ve had a very good camp to be honest and I think our first target should be the Algeria game, I think we are very much ready and we are obviously going to have the best preparation in Algeria where I’m sure we are going to have the full squad,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sakala has urged the fans to rally behind the Chipolopolo in both of their opening AFCON 2027 qualification fixtures to give the team the extra oomph to deliver positive results.

“Like always, we’ll ask them to support us and we’ll give them the best for them, we will make sure that we fight for them on the pitch and we will definitely try to work extra hard and give them the three points,” he said.

He continued: “I know that they always give us the best support but we’ll obviously not stop asking them, we need them more than ever.”

Chipolopolo need to finish among the top two teams in Group I, also comprising of Algeria, Togo and Burundi, in order to qualify for the 2027 AFCON to be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next year.

Photo: CAF

06/07/2026

The premier sports show dissecting sports issues beyond the pitch into the dressing room, the boardroom and administrative offices with precision and great detail

13/04/2026

THERE’S NO MAGIC: We Need To Be Better Organized - Copper Queens Captain Issues A Stinging Rebuke After Chaotic Build Up To FIFA Series In Brazil

Copper Queens captain Barbra Banda has given a rare but strong statement after poor travel and organization arrangements characterized Zambia’s trip to the FIFA Series in Brazil calling for “better organization of the team” as results on the pitch are not attained through “magic”.

There were only nine infield players and three goalkeepers in Brazil 24 hours before the opening match against Canada which the team lost 4-0.

Barbra Banda, the Orlando Pride star striker, and several other key players arrived hours before the Canada match. They were only introduced in the second half.

Speaking for the first time following the debacle, Barbra, rarely a unionist type of a player, appeared to pour her frustrations openly suggesting the team has had enough.

“We can beat top teams, but if we are not organized well, it won't happen by magic.

“We need proper organization from management down to the players.

“This is FIFA, this is a series. We cannot keep dropping our standards.”

The captain has urged both the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and government to step up and improve the treatment of the team.

“Honestly, I would like to see more change.

“We can compete with these European teams, but preparation is key.

“We are representing Zambia and we wear this badge with pride, so we also need to be considered.”

Barbra, Grace Chanda, Lushimba Mweemba, Ireen Lungu, Martha Tembo, Prisca Chilufya all delayed to join camp. Their delay was attributed to visa glitches.

Zambia will face Brazil tomorrow at 21:30 local time (Wednesday, 03:30hrs Zambian time).

Banda says the team had drawn key lessons from their match against Canada.

“I think from the first game, we have learned a lot coming into the next game against Brazil.

“We know it won't be easy, but we are trying everything possible as a team to organize ourselves and go after them,” Banda said.

The US-based striker described the fixture as a valuable opportunity for the squad, especially the younger players, to test themselves against one of the world’s elite sides.

“These are high-profile teams and we need to play them to learn more. It is a good opportunity for our youngsters to showcase their talent,” said Banda.

Brazil, who host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, beat South Korea 5-1 on the day Zambia lost 4-0.

01/04/2026

HALF-TIME: Argentina 🇦🇷 2-0 🇿🇲 Zambia
[Julían Alvarez ‘3, Lionel Messi ‘43]

An all-round magical performance by The Great Lionel Messi sends the world champions leading at the break.

27/03/2026

MESSI READY FOR CHIPOLOPOLO: Scaloni Confirms Messi Involvement Against Chipolopolo

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed Lionel Messi will feature in the upcoming friendlies against Mauritania & Zambia.

Speaking at a press conference in Buenos Aires, Scaloni said he will seize the opportunity to try out different players in the two friendlies against the African nations.

“The team will be a mix of players we want to evaluate and others who need to raise their level. Messi is going to play, I don’t know if from the start or in the second half.”

La Albiceleste will face Mauritania at La Bombonera tomorrow before hosting Chipolopolo on Tuesday morning at 01:15 CAT in Buenos Aires.

Bolla Zambia

21/09/2026

19/09/2026

19/09/2026

19/09/2026

19/09/2026

19/09/2026

06/07/2026

13/04/2026

01/04/2026

27/03/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request