Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Keith Mweemba has urged the Copper Princesses to be mentally strong ahead of this weekend’s return leg of the 2026 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers in Ethiopia.
Zambia will travel to Addis Ababa with a 2-1 lead from the first leg played on Saturday at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
The result means Zambia need only a goalless draw or any win to seal a third consecutive appearance at the World Cup. Ethiopia, however, scored a crucial away goal to keep the tie open.
Speaking to reporters in Ndola, Mweemba said FAZ was pleased with the team’s display despite the narrow win.
“We are very proud of our girls, we are very proud of our technical bench as well. On any given day the team would have won this game even by 5-0,” Mweemba said.
The FAZ President addressed the team after the match and stressed the need for mental resilience.
“The girls have done us proud, we hope that we can get a positive result in the return leg. We told the girls to be mentally strong. Sometimes you meet negative forces that try to defeat you mentally. We have a good technical bench and they should work on the players regarding mental strength,” he said.
Mweemba further urged the team to focus on their own game.
“The girls should not be defeated by things like officiating. Let them focus on playing football. I believe in offensive play all the time because this is the best way of defending. We shouldn’t focus much on the opponent, let’s play our game. Let’s not dance to the tune of the opponent,” he said.
Zambia is chasing a third straight qualification to the Under-17 Women’s World Cup.
