In 1993, Zambia’s national soccer team had captivated the nation. For once, there was real, genuine hope that this young, exciting squad could qualify for its first World Cup in 1994.
To do so, the team would need to navigate the qualifying stages, where it would face other African teams battling for a position at the world’s biggest sporting event, set to be hosted in the United States.
But, in pursuit of that dream, Zambia suffered a disaster that would shock the world and kill almost the entirety of its golden generation.
The Chipolopolo (“The Copper Bullets”) had been due to play Senegal in a World Cup qualifier in Dakar, requiring a long and arduous plane journey up the continent of Africa.
Such was the economic state of Zambia at the time, the team would often fly in a DHC-5 Buffalo military plane which would need multiple stops in order to refuel.
The laborious route was set. The team would leave Zambia and fly to the Republic of Congo, then to Gabon, then to the Ivory Coast, before eventually landing in Senegal.
Tragically, the plane never made it to its final destination.
On April 27, 1993, the aircraft carrying the Zambian national team crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, shortly after leaving Gabon. A total of 18 players were killed, along with everyone else onboard.
As often is the case in aviation disasters, the cause of the crash was a mixture of both bad luck and a series of errors.
In his book “Crash of the Buffalo” – which details the Zambian tragedy – author and former journalist Jay Mwamba said a fire in the left engine of the plane broke out shortly after leaving Gabon.
In a panic, he said, the pilots shut down the right engine by mistake, causing the aircraft to plunge into the water below, killing everyone onboard.
Before moving to the US to study, Mwamba had spent time following the team in his former role as a sports journalist. He knew many of the Zambian players personally and still remembers where he was when he heard about the tragedy.
In the week prior to the crash, Mwamba had spoken to Kalusha Bwalya – the standout star of the Zambian team. Bwalya was playing in Europe for Dutch side PSV Eindhoven at the time and was due to meet up with the national team after it had landed in Senegal.
Devastating accident
It was Bwalya who rang Mwamba on that fateful morning to tell him the news.
“I instantly called my old newspaper in Zambia to find out more and they confirmed what I had heard. I started reeling off names (of players who might have been on the plane),” Mwamba told CNN Sports.
Mwamba said he experienced a delayed reaction to the tragedy, with the reality only hitting him when he was watching a soccer match between England and the Netherlands later that day.
“They held a minute of silence for the Zambian team and that’s when I started crying. That’s when it really hit me,” he added.
“You see some of my favorite players bowing their heads, holding a minute’s silence. I was devastated.”
Back in Zambia, the news broke the hearts of a nation.
At that time, the nation’s economy was struggling and the men’s soccer team was one of the few things that offered any glimmer of hope. After the crash, it appeared that light had been extinguished for good.
The morning after the plane had crashed, debris and luggage from the plane started washing up on the shores of Gabon.
The 30 people onboard were eventually buried just outside Independence Stadium in Lusaka, Zambia, at a memorial site called the “Heroes’ Acre.”
Devastated by the disaster, Mwamba waited over 10 years before starting to research and write his book about the incident, which focuses heavily on the incredible comeback story of the national team.
“I was like everybody else. I was just shattered, just horrible, you know, just depressed for a year and I never thought of writing a book until a bit later, around 2007,” he said.
“I thought this has to be chronicled. I thought I could do a decent job since I knew a lot of the players. In fact, I knew one of the pilots.”
Over a few years, Mwamba set about interviewing people about the incident – including people who were supposed to be flying on the plane. He also spoke to those tasked with rebuilding a team that Zambia could be proud of.
He told CNN Sports that the decision to rebuild the team was made by those in charge of the national team as they flew to Gabon to retrieve the bodies.
The call then went out to Bwalya, asking if he would lead the team in its World Cup qualifying campaign. He accepted and trials were held to find the new generation of stars.
Zambian rebuild
Incredibly, the new team gelled quickly and it beat Morocco 2-1 just 10 weeks after the disaster.
However, despite the positive start, the Chipolopolo came up just short of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup.
The team lost 1-0 in a rematch against the Atlas Lions in the final playoff game, bringing a gut-wrenching campaign to a heartbreaking conclusion.
Despite the defeat, the team returned home heroes and refocused ahead of the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Led by Bwalya again, the new squad went on to reach the AFCON final but once again fell just short of continental success, losing 2-1 to Nigeria.
It would be 18 years until Zambia found itself back with a shot at glory and it appeared destiny had an important role to play.
In 2012, the team went into the AFCON unfancied. Bwalya had since retired from playing and was now serving as the head of the Zambian soccer federation.
Much to some people’s surprise, Bwalya had re-hired head coach Hervé Renard the year before, after the Frenchman had left the role in 2010. He was tasked with guiding the underdog side through what many expected to be a difficult tournament.
Incredibly, against all odds, Zambia reached the final of the tournament, which was to be played in Gabon, just a few miles away from where the crash occurred 19 years before.
Before the final, the team visited the shoreline where the plane had plunged into the ocean, laying flowers in an emotional ceremony.
Then, with the memory of that golden generation in their heads, the Zambian team beat Ivory Coast in the final, courtesy of a dramatic penalty shootout.
With the win, Zambia secured its first – and only – Africa Cup of Nations title.
“We wanted to honor the dead players and that strengthened us. Our first game was against Senegal and the team was on its way to Senegal for a match when the plane crashed,” Renard said at the time.
“The plane crashed in Gabon and we won the final in Gabon. It is a sign of destiny.”
Mwamba told CNN Sports that the memory of those who died in 1993 still lives on in the team today – despite many of the players not being born when the tragedy occurred.
Now, 32 years on, the Zambian men’s team has another chance of reaching a World Cup in the US.
It currently sits third in its qualification group and has three games left including matches against two teams above it – Morocco and Tanzania – later this year.
Mwamba said the team has a 50/50 chance of securing a playoff place for the 2026 World Cup, which is set to be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
If Zambia is to reach the tournament, you feel it might be destiny playing a part once again.
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