MBEWE LANDS NATIONAL TEAM ROLE AHEAD OF CRUCIAL U-23 AFCON QUALIFIERS
Red Arrows head coach Chisi Mbewe has landed the Zambia Under-23 national team coaching job ahead of the country’s crucial qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has appointed Mbewe as head coach of the Under-23 side, with the team also tasked with securing qualification to the 2028 Olympic Games.
Mbewe will be assisted by Numba Mumamba as first assistant coach, George Chilufya as second assistant and Kalililo Kakonje as goalkeeper coach.
The rest of the technical bench comprises 2012 Africa Cup of Nations-winning vice-captain Chintu Kampamba as physical coach, Mumba Mwila as team manager, Ndaba Sipuke as team doctor, Nimrod Musongwa as physiotherapist, Luka Kaunda as video analyst, Nchimunya Mwila as security manager and 2009 CHAN Golden Boot winner Given Singuluma as equipment manager.
FAZ General Secretary Charles Chakatazya said the appointments followed a rigorous process aimed at identifying some of the country’s best local coaching talent.
“The appointments have been made after a rigorous exercise that saw FAZ pick some of the best local coaching talents. Mbewe has been part of the Zambian youth system for some time having served as U15 and U20 coach over the years and knows his way around the current generation of players,” Chakatazya said.
He said the technical bench had been given the immediate task of qualifying for the U-23 AFCON before turning its attention to the Olympics.
“He will be assisted by an equally competent ensemble of local coaches that we have tasked to firstly qualify to the U23 AFCON and subsequently the Olympics in 2028,” he said.
Mbewe brings youth international experience to the position, having previously coached the Zambia Under-20 team that qualified for the 2023 Under-20 AFCON in Egypt.
Zambia have been handed a second-round tie against either Sierra Leone or Burkina Faso in the qualifiers for the 2027 U-23 AFCON.
Mbewe’s side will enter the qualifiers at the second-round stage, with the first leg scheduled for November 9 and the return leg eight days later.
Zambia last qualified for the U-23 AFCON in 2019 in Egypt under coach Beston Chambeshi, but exited the tournament at the first-round stage.
