By Mubukwanu Kaingu
CHIPOLOPOLO midfielder Kings Kangwa says their 2023 AFCON exit is not the end of the world and that Zambia will rebound stronger from their Ivory Coast tournament experience.
Zambia’s eight-year wait to taste AFCON sweetness ended on a sour note on January 24 when they were knocked out of at the preliminary phase with 2 points from their three Group F games.
Kangwa said in an interview in San Pedro after Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Morocco that confirmed Chipolopolo’s exit that he was disappointed that his dream AFCON debut was short-lived.
“We wanted to do better but sometimes this is football and you have to accept the situation,” Kangwa said.
“But this is not the end of the world, we will be back and we will be ready because we have a very young team.”
Chipolopolo finished third in Group F on 2 points, but it was not enough for Zambia to make the best-four, third-place teams that qualified to the last 16.
However, Kangwa left the ongoing AFCON Ivory Coast is hosting from January 13 to February 11 with a dream start when he scored Chipolopolo’s first goal of the tournament in their 1-1 draw with DR Congo on January 17.
“I think about my goal, it was a dream come true. I have been dreaming about it since I was a kid,” Kangwa said.
“Away from that, I was looking forward to continue playing in this competition but unfortunately no.”
Meanwhile, Chipolopolo are scheduled to return to action this March when the Morocco 2025 AFCON qualifiers are set to commence.
But CAF has yet to announce the qualifier draws for the AFCON that Morocco is going to host in mid-2025 during the European summer off-season instead of its traditional January date.
It will be the second that the AFCON will be held in the middle of the year since the 2019 finals in Egypt that was held from June 21 to July 19.
