Football cup success puts Zambia back on the map
Victoria Falls. Photo by mp3ief
10 interesting facts about the country which has just been crowned African Cup of Nations champions
The fact that Zambia shares a border with eight other African countries means that it often gets overshadowed. And the fact that the country has stayed peaceful and trouble-free, especially in comparison to many of its neighbours, means that this beautiful nation has happily languished in relative obscurity.
However, the last two weeks has seen Zambia receive much global news coverage due to the unexpected success of its football team in the African Cup of Nations – they beat tournament favourites Ivory Coast in a thrilling final on Sunday 12th February 2012.
Here is a list of ten facts you might not know about Zambia – the last of which explains why a tragic plane crash gave Zambia’s ‘Copper Bullets’ extra motivation to win the cup.
1. Zambia is the only nation to enter an Olympics as one nation and become another nation before the end of the Games. This happened at the Tokyo Olympics when the nation’s athletes walked below the flag of Northern Rhodesia at the opening ceremony and flew the flag of Zambia at the closing ceremony on October 24th 1964 – the day the nation won independence.
2. You can’t get much more ‘land-locked’ than Zambia; it is surrounded by, and shares a border with, eight other African countries – Botswana, Namibia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
3. Zambia is an excellent safari destination – it is known as the land of the walking safari and has a prolific animal population which includes buffalo, elephant, hippo, lion, leopard, wild dog, giraffe, zebra and cheetah. Two of the best must-visit Zambian safari destinations are the South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi National Parks. Both offer night drives which are superb for leopard sightings and provide the perfect conditions for excellent walking safaris . The lower Zambezi offers adventurous canoeing safaris. Kasanka National Park is another wildlife hot-spot; it’s the place where millions of straw-coloured fruit bats gather at the end of one of nature’s greatest migrations. African safari specialist Safari Consultants can organise to trips these and other Zambia safari destinations.
4. Zambia’s Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and for good reason; it forms the largest sheet of falling water in the world. Located on the Zambezi River, Scottish missionary David Livingstone (of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” fame) was the first European to set eyes on this amazing waterfall. Having discovered it in 1855, he named it after Queen Victoria although in Zambia it is known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (translation: the Smoke that Thunders).
5. It is the continent’s biggest copper producer – hence the football team’s nickname: the ‘Copper Bullets’ and the orange stripe in the nation’s flag. Serious exploitation of the country’s main natural resource began in 1924.
6. According to a 2009 census, there are almost 13 million living in Zambia. Of these, an estimated 80,000 are Chinese – a population which is of great economic importance to the nation.
7. Famous people who have been born in Zambia include best-selling novelist Wilbur Smith, England cricketer Phil Edmonds and Welsh footballer Robert Earnshaw.
8. Kenneth Kaunda is the man who led Zambia towards independence. He ruled from 1964 until 1991 and was responsible for nationalising the country’s copper mines. Kaunda’s reign was, at times, troubled – as world copper prices plummeted Zambia suffered much hardship in the post-independence years. However, it is widely acknowledged that political freedom in southern Africa largely followed the route set by Kaunda. Nelson Mandela has often referred to the debt post-apartheid South Africa owes Zambia and remains good friends with Kaunda. Zambia’s former leader, now 87, could be seen in the crowd cheering on his country during the African Nations Cup final.
9. The Zambian staple diet is based on maize which is normally eaten as a thick porridge called ‘nshima’. The maize is made from a type of flour commonly known as ‘mealie meal’.
10. Zambia’s achievement in reaching the African Cup of Nations final has been dedicated to the 18 members of the Zambia football team who died in a plane crash on 27th April 1993. The military plane was carrying the team to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, within a mile of the Gabonese coast. All 30 people on board perished.
Kalusha Bwalya, the captain of the 1993 squad, missed the flight because club commitments meant that he had had to make separate travel arrangements. But he has never forgotten his team mates.
Commenting on his country’s triumph in the African Cup of Nations, Bwalya, now president of the Zambian football association, said: “I am convinced that our dearly departed brothers who lost their lives 19 years ago have given us a helping hand.
He added: “Bringing glory to our country is something that the boys, the fallen heroes, dreamed about.”
Author: James Christie writes for Safari Consultants who specialise in tailormade safaris across Africa
