Mulwanda Rallies Junior Chipolopolo Ahead of U-20 AFCON Opener Despite Limited Intel on Sierra Leone
As the Zambia Under-20 national team prepares for Sunday’s Group A match at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, head coach Boyd Mulwanda says he hasn’t watched Sierra Leone’s games.
The Junior Chipolopolo are in Group A alongside host Egypt, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and South Africa.
The tournament, scheduled to run from 27 April to 18 May 2025, will feature 13 nations battling for continental supremacy and four qualification spots to the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Chile 2025.
Zambia will open their campaign on Sunday at 17:00 at the Suez Canal Stadium.
In a pre-match conference, Mulwanda revealed that he has not watched Sierra Leone’s team in action but has prepared the team for the opening match.
Mulwanda emphasized that securing a victory in the opening match would boost the team’s confidence for the later stages of the tournament.
“We’ve prepared adequately for this game, and we know the importance of it. Being the first game, that is the one which is going to determine how far we’re going to go in this tournament. So, we’ve told the boys that we have to go all out and win this match,” Mulwanda said.
He states that most of the teams at youth tournaments usually come with new squads.
“I think we haven’t watched it, Sierra Leone. But we know that being youth teams, all the teams are new that have come here. And what is important is how best we prepare the team,”
Mulwanda believes that the tournament is a life-changing opportunity for the players, adding that they should replicate the performance of the 2017 squad that won the title on home soil.
“That is the message that we’ll be preaching to the boys to say – the 2017 boys went all the way to the World Cup and won the Afcon, which we feel, even you guys, we can do. And the boys, they are very positive, and they are going to give it all to make sure that the Zambians are happy. And we’ve told the boys this is their platform to change their lives by doing their best.”
