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Zambia playing for fallen stars

SHUSH: Zambia's players celebrate after scoring against Equatorial Guinea during their African Nations Cup match in Malabo last month. PHOTO: REUTERS
SHUSH: Zambia's players celebrate after scoring against Equatorial Guinea during their African Nations Cup match in Malabo last month. PHOTO: REUTERS

ZAMBIA's Chipolopolo will go to Libreville coastline in Gabon tomorrow to honour their fallen heroes who perished on their way to the World Cup qualifier in 1993.

Twenty five Zambian team players and officials and five crew members died in a plane crash in Gabon as they were flying to Dakar to play against Senegal in a qualifier for 1994 World Cup.

Many African soccer experts consider the Zambian team of that year as the greatest.

The players and officials were buried outside the national stadium in Lusaka

"When we left Zambia we made a pledge that we wanted to win this tournament in honour of the team that perished in 1993," said goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

"I was only nine years old when they perished, but it was a national tragedy that we will never forget," Mweene said.

Tomorrow's event comes two days after Zambia became the first team to qualify for the 2012 Afcon semifinals after whipping Sudan 3-0 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, on Saturday night.

The scorers were Sunzu Stoppila, Christopher Katongo and James Chamanga.

Reaching the semifinals for the first time in 16 years was described as a great achievement by the president of the Football Association of Zambia, Kalusha Bwalya.

"We are so proud of the boys for improving on the performance on 2010 in Angola by reaching the semifinals this time round," Bwalya said.

"When the tournament started, we made it clear we wanted to go beyond the quarterfinals to show that there is improvement in the team.

"There is no turning back, forward we go. We owe it to the nation to do well," he said.

The last time Chipolopolo reached the last four of this continental showpiece was in 1996 in Johannesburg, when they went back home with a bronze medal.

Zambian coach Herve Renard had this to say: "We are not afraid of any team.

"Our target was to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1996."

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