From the likes of the late Denis Lota, Collins Mbesuma, Isaac Chansa, James Chamanga and Christopher Katongo, to name but a few, Zambians have long left their mark in SA’s Premier Soccer League (PSL).
However, in recent seasons, hardly any Zambian stars have featured in the PSL, with the number of imports from that country declining drastically.
A few Zambians who have managed to move to the PSL have proven to be flops in recent times, with Lazarous Kambole at Kaizer Chiefs and Austin Muwowo at Orlando Pirates being prime examples.
Chipolopolo legend Katongo, who made his name in SA with Jomo Cosmos, has attributed the dwindling number of Zambian players in the PSL to the failure of that country’s teams to impress in CAF tournaments in recent seasons.
“It’s been a long time since we wrote history here [in SA],” Katongo said on the sidelines of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup draw at SuperSport Studios in Randburg on Monday.
“If you look at the history of Zambians in the PSL, it’s fantastic — but the number of Zambian players coming to SA has gone down. The reason is that we didn’t handle the transition process very well because when Zanaco, Nkana, Power [Dynamos] and Zesco [United] were participating regularly in the CAF tournaments, it was when we sent players to SA.
“In the last five or six years, these teams have hardly gone to the group stages... so, where will big teams, especially SA teams, see our players? Most of the Zambian players are not exposed. In Zambia, only two teams have been participating in CAF tournaments regularly.”
This season, Zambia boasts two teams in the group stages of the CAF tournaments: Dynamos in the Champions League and Zesco in the Confederation Cup.
Dynamos are in Group A alongside champions Pyramids of Egypt, Confederation Cup champions Berkane from Morocco and Nigeria’s Rivers United. Zesco are pitted against Kaizer Chiefs and two Egyptian sides — Zamalek and Al Masry — in Group D of the Cup.
“It’s not going to be easy for these two Zambian teams because it’s been a long time since they participated in the group stages of these CAF tournaments. These competitions need experience and pedigree,” said Katongo, who was PSL top goalscorer in 2007.
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