Former Chipolopolo and Power Dynamos prolific striker Mwape Miti has brutally lamented Zambia’s poor performance at the just ended 2025 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Morocco and won by Senegal.
Zambia led by Coach Moses Sichone was embarrassingly eliminated from the Africa Cup in the first round with two points after failing to win a match in Group A which had host Morocco, Mali and Comoros.
The 2012 Africa Cup champions left Morocco with two points and one goal scored by Patson Daka in their opening Group A match against Mali which ended 1-1.
Zambia complicated their slim chances of advancing to the round of 16 at the Africa Cup after a disappointing goalless draw against Comoros in which the players struggled to shoot on target in both the first and the second half. The 3-0 loss to Morocco in their final group game was the final nail which sealed Zambia’s coffin at the competition.
Weeks after returning from the Africa Cup, the local football fraternity is still complaining over Zambia’s failure at the continental tournament.
In an interview from Kitwe, Miti, who represented Zambia at the 1996 and 2000 Africa Cup, said the Senior National Team’s meagre performance shows Chipolopolo’s declining status as a football powerhouse in Africa.
“We allowed four goals and scored one. Where did you expect Zambia to go with the two points? We played as if players were just learning how to play football,” said the former Denmark based striker, who played for OB. Odense.
“We struggled against Morocco and lost 3-0 but our colleagues Tanzania lost 1-0 to the same team. Look at Mozambique, they played better than us at the Africa Cup. We will continue declining on FIFA rankings and we will now be struggling to find opponents for friendly matches. Many teams will be saying that Zambia is a weak side,” Miti said.
Miti said foreign based stars such as Fashion Sakala, Lameck Banda and Kings Kangwa did not lead by example.
He said local players performed better at the Africa Cup and called on National Team coaches to stop relying on foreign based stars.
“Where are the high standards from professionals? Professionals did nothing at the Africa Cup. Their performance was below par. We should learn to rely on local players. We shouldn’t play names. Get players from Power Dynamos or Nkana. We want players who are committed like Mordon Malitoli in the past,” Miti said.
Zambia’s depressing show in Morocco has re-opened the wounds inflicted on soccer fans by the National Team’s failure to qualify for the expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, Miti said coach Sichone and his bench should be maintained ahead of future international assignments.
Miti made his name at the defunct Mulungushi Chiefs Football Club in Kitwe in the mid 1990s before he was snatched by Power. His stay at Arthur Davies Stadium was short-lived as he made a big move to Odense in Denmark in 1997.
He played 246 matches for Odense – scoring 109 goals. In the 2003-04 seasons, Miti was joint top scorer in the Danish League with 19 goals
Injury forced him to retire in 2006.
(Written by Valentine Mukuka – Icengelo Magazine – Managing Editor)
This story was first published by Mission Press of Ndola in the Icengelo Magazine for January, 2026.
I agree with the analysis but i don’t agree with the advice to keep the bench. Learn from successful teams in Europe. They value coaches with expertise and turn around strategies that work quickly. Why is Real Madrid so successful? Coaches are important at Madrid. Zambian coaches have retrogressed. The best coach we had was Ben Mbafuchile. Noone has improved on his record
Ben yes. The current crop of coaches can’t even successfully coach our women’s teams