Popular Post BeeInExile Posted November 17, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted November 17, 2023 (edited) Hi, I'm BeeInExile, and I'm one of the two Assistant Researchers for Zambia. My co-researcher has created a mod so that you can play in Zambia. I'm here to tell you why you might want to do that. Zambia: “That's that country that begins with Z that's not Zimbabwe, right?” Zambia is a country in south central Africa with a population of almost 20m people. It's sort of butterfly-shaped. It's a former British colony and won independence in 1964. It's a democracy and has never had a successful coup or a civil war. Zambia is home to half of Victoria Falls – it shares them with Zimbabwe. It's also a major world centre for copper production. Copper, and cobalt which is found in similar geology, are the major exports. Zambia is in many ways the land of copper. The national football team is nicknamed Chipolopolo, which means the Copper Bullets. There is a copper-coloured part of the national flag, and while most Provinces of the country are named after points of the compass, one region is called the Copperbelt. This matters because football is historically a game of the industrial working classes, and Zambia has been unusually urbanised for an African country, mainly thanks to the mining towns that grew up around the copper mines. The vast majority of the most successful teams throughout the history of Zambian football are either from the Copperbelt, or latterly from Lusaka, the capital. The football culture: Zambia has produced some pretty decent footballers in its time. Enoch Mwepu was a starter for Brighton until his recent retirement. Patson Daka plays for Leicester City, and Fashion Sakala played for Rangers in Scotland until his recent move to Saudi Arabia. Zambia's legendary players include the striker Kalusha Bwalya, and Godfrey Chitalu, who probably exceeded Lionel Messi's record for the number of goals scored in a calendar year, scoring 107 in 1972. They've been a solid country in African football for a long time, punching above their population size, if only rarely reaching the heights. Perhaps Sweden in Europe is a fair point of comparison. Enock Mwepu's retirement due to a heart condition is not the only tragedy to strike Zambian football, however. In 1993, most of the national team, widely regarded as a golden generation of players, perished in a plane crash in Gabon. Zambia's AFCON victory in 2012, which took place a matter of metres away from the site of the crash, is surely one of the most moving stories in sport. However, Zambia have never qualified for a men's World Cup – perhaps you can change that? The clubs: The first thing to know about the clubs in general is that they work differently from nearly all the ones in Western Europe. Clubs in Zambia, especially the major ones, are usually sponsored by either a mining company (which is usually the case for the ones on the Copperbelt) or by a branch of the government. They are old-style works teams, like PSV and Bayer Leverkusen used to be, and their sponsor would never sell them. So if you really love trains, why not manage Kabwe Warriors, who are sponsored by Zambian Railways? Or if you really dislike the penal system, you'll want to thrash Nkwazi (the police team) and Prison Leopards (the prison officers' team). Epithets: Many Zambian clubs have epithets associated with them, which can be a sort of nickname. For example, Zanaco are known as Sensational, Nkwazi are High-Flying, and Nchanga Rangers are Brave. Kabwe Warriors, who must have the most nicknames of any team in Zambia, are known as The Magnificent People's Team, or Magnificent for short. League and Cup Format: The top two leagues are both professional, and operate in a straightforward round robin format. Each league has 18 teams. The top four teams in National Division 1 are promoted to the Zambian Super League, and the bottom four teams in both leagues are relegated to the league below. The ABSA Cup is the only domestic cup, and is a straight single legged knockout competition. The teams selected for the cup are those that are in the top 6 of the Zambian Super League and the top 2 of National Division 1 at the end of game week 17 (so halfway through the season). The ABSA Cup often has surprising champions. There is also a Charity Shield. As in many other countries, this is the season curtain-raiser and is contested between the winners of the previous season's league and cup. The league runs from August to May. Zambia's rainy season from January to March can cause problems with this schedule. Qualification for Continental Competition: Until recently the top four teams in the Zambian league qualified for continental competition. However, following the poor performance of Zambian teams in the past few seasons' Champions League and Confederations Cup, Zambia only has two slots for continental qualification. The league champions qualify for the Champions League, and the runners up qualify for the Confederations Cup. This season these are Power Dynamos and FC MUZA respectively. Maybe you can get back Zambia's four slots? Rules: You can only have 5 non-Zambians in your match-day squad. Also, B teams can play in the same division as their senior teams. If you think this might be open to abuse, you would be right. Suggested teams to manage: The Big Dogs: The Zambian league is actually quite competitive. Five teams have won the league in the past decade (ZESCO, Power Dynamos, Nkana, Red Arrows, and Zanaco), and there have been four different winners in the past four seasons. The ABSA Cup, the domestic cup, also goes to all sorts of different teams. This is not the Bundesliga, with only one regular champion, or Scotland, with two. With that said, some teams are definitely “bigger” than others. Nkana, ZESCO United, Power Dynamos Nkana: probably the most supported team in Zambia, “Kalampa” (clamp) are the second most successful team in the history of Zambian football. They are based in Kitwe, one of the biggest cities in the Copperbelt, and are sponsored by a mining firm. Nkana have been a strong team for a long time, but their heyday was the 1980s, when they were the dominant side. Their resemblance to Man Utd goes beyond their similar crest, though – although Nkana won the league in 2019/20, they have since struggled to make a real title challenge, and have had several very underwhelming seasons since. Maybe you can change that? Power Dynamos: the defending champions. Power were by far the best side in the 2022/3 season, and even losing their star striker Kennedy Musonda in the January transfer window didn't stop them from claiming the league title. They are Nkana's local rivals, and the derby between them is the biggest domestic grudge match in Zambia. Sponsored by the Copperbelt Electricity Corporation, Power have a bit of an emphasis on generating players from their youth system, and a sort of ambient culture of playing a slightly more technical and possession-based game than the Zambian average. Perhaps Arsenal is a good comparison. Although historically they have won fewer trophies than Nkana, they are the only Zambian team ever to win a continental trophy – they won the African Cup Winners' Cup in 1991. This season they have qualified for the African Champions League. Can you do one better? ZESCO United: The closest thing to a dominant club in Zambia in the past decade or so, ZESCO United are based in Ndola, another big Copperbelt city, and are sponsored by the state power company ZESCO. Their distinctive orange and green strip makes them hard to miss. They've been Zambia's most successful team in CAF competitions recently, but had a mixed season last time around. Early struggles under Numba Mumamba gave way to gradual success under “Chicken” George Lwandamina. Can you put them back on their perch and then win continental glory? Fallen Giants: Mufulira Wanderers; Roan United Mululira Wanderers: Mufulira Wanderers are the most successful team in the history of Zambian football, and have some of the most dedicated and passionate fans. However, most of their trophies were won in the 1960s and 1970s, shortly after independence. Since then, although they provided a lot of players for the national team in the 1980s, and have always produced talented players that have gone on to other clubs, trophies have been thin on the ground. Based in the mining town of Mufulira, and sponsored by the same mining company that sponsors Nkana, can you lead Maite (“Mighty”) back to glory? Roan United: Roan won the first ever Zambian league title, way back in 1962. Their traditional black and white strip was a symbol of racial integration. Since then though they have been much less successful. “Stylish” narrowly failed to qualify for National Division 1 this year, and are playing in the Copperbelt regional league. Can you take the Luanshya-based team back to the summit? Emphasis on Youth: Kafue Celtic; Atletico Lusaka If you want to try a challenge based around youth, these two teams are your go-to. Unlike the other clubs in the Zambian pyramid, these two teams specifically focus on youth development and maintain themselves by selling their best prospects to European clubs. Kafue Celtic are the more established of the two. Run by Lee Kawanu, they have identified and trained up a number of Zambia's brightest stars and prospects, including Enock Mwepu and Patson Daka. Currently however their on-field performance hasn't matched their development success. They suffered two successive relegations under the watch of head coach Joel Bwalya, and are now languishing in Lusaka Province Division 1. Can you develop a great team of young Zambians to glory? Atletico Lusaka are the newer team of the two. Having been born from the former FC Barcelona youth academy in Lusaka, Atletico focus heavily on La Masia-style technical, possession based football, and even have a Catalan technical director. They have generated some of the brightest prospects in recent Zambian football, and provide a significant proportion of players at youth international level. While they don't have the pedigree of Kafue Celtic, they are currently the more successful of the two, as they are playing in National Division 1. Can you tiki-taka your way to continental success? Nearly-men: Kabwe Warriors Definitely one of the bigger teams in Zambian football, Kabwe Warriors are sponsored by Zambian Railways and are the biggest team in Kabwe, a city in central Zambia. However, their significant support base and position as one of the more popular teams in Zambian football has not translated into trophies, with their last league title being in 1987. A possible comparison team for fans of the English Premier League would be Aston Villa. Kabwe Warriors were also the club that Godfrey Chitalu played for when he broke all the scoring records, and their stadium is named after him and his achievement of scoring 107 goals in a single year. Perhaps you can nurture an even better striker and get Kabwe Warriors back to the top of the tree? Fun Geography: Livingstone Pirates; Mpulungu Harbour; Mpulungu Youth; Chipata United These four teams are notable for being from some of the extreme locations as far as Zambia, and especially Zambian football, is concerned. Livingstone Pirates come from the tourist town of Livingstone in the far south, adjacent to Zimbabwe and Victoria Falls. The two Mpulungu teams are from Mpulungu on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Northern Province, more than a day's travel from many of the more established teams, and much closer to Tanzania. Mpulungu Harbour have cultivated a no-one likes us, we don't care attitude, and have a strong home record, while Mpulungu Youth are newbies to National Division One, and in spite of their name, have no particular emphasis on youth players. Chipata United are the only team in the top two divisions from Eastern Province, and are based in Chipata, a small city on the Malawian border. Newly promoted, they are owned and coached by the passionate and controversial Esau Zulu. None of these regions are traditional hotbeds of Zambian football, but they attract significant local fanbases, perhaps because of their distance from the Copperbelt and Lusaka. Can you upend the traditional geography of Zambian football and make the people of these provinces proud? Quirky: Barts FC; Maestro United Zambia (FC MUZA) Barts FC are an oddity. Based in Southern Province, they are funded by a Christian missionary charity from the USA. They are in fact named after the missionary who is their chairman, a white Californian named Bart Barker. In spite of this unusual background, as far as playing style and performance on the pitch are concerned, Barts FC are relatively typical. They were relegated from National Division 1 last season, but have a capable coach in Robert Tembo. Perhaps you can get the Mighty Elephants to bounce back and even take their message abroad? FC MUZA are a rarity in elite Zambian football, as they are a privately owned club. They are owned by Keith Mweemba, a highly successful lawyer, and based in the sugar-producing town of Mazabuka in Southern Province. Although they don't have the biggest budget in Zambia, MUZA are known for their clever talent identification. They have had a rapid rise and came second in the league last season, qualifying them for the African Confederations Cup. They have some talented players, including their striker Andrew Phiri. Can you maintain the trajectory of their rise and win them their first Zambian league title, making them the first team from Southern Province to win that trophy? Crisis Clubs: Buildcon; Lusaka Dynamos Both these teams are in dire straits. Buildcon's main sponsor has found himself in trouble with the Zambian government and withdrawn funding. Only a matter of half a decade ago, Buildcon were famous in Zambian football for their multinational squad and their willingness to spend big. Now they've been demoted to the regional leagues and their very existence is very much in question. Lusaka Dynamos are one of the institutions of Zambian football. Run by Hanif Adams since the early 1980s, Lusaka Dynamos gained a reputation for developing young players who went on to bigger and better things in Zambia. “The Elite” even became somewhat popular abroad. Hanif Adams has seldom been wealthy enough to fund the club himself, and so has looked for rich businessmen to help sponsor the team. Recently it's fair to say that this has backfired. Similarly to Buildcon, they have lost all funding as well, have significant debts to players who are still seeking back payments, and have been relegated to the provincial leagues. It's unclear whether Lusaka Dynamos will even survive. Can you bring them back from the death? Full list of all the clubs in the Super League, their sponsors, and their epithets: Name Sponsor Epithet Forest Rangers Forestry Service Green Buffaloes Army Green Eagles National Service Kabwe Warriors Railways Magnificent Kansanshi Dynamos Mining Company Fearless Konkola Blades Mining Company Maestro United Private Owner Mufulira Wanderers Mining Company Mighty Mutondo Stars Private Owner Evergreen NAPSA Stars Pension Fund Nkana Mining Company Nkwazi Police High-Flying Power Dynamos Electricity company Powerful Prison Leopards Prison Wardens Red Arrows Air Force Trident Mining Company Zanaco Bank Sensational ZESCO United Electricity company How you may wish to set up your save: You can download the file here. It will also soon be available on Steam if you prefer to use that. Zambia is significantly revamped and improved from previous FMs, but I can't deny that it's still a work in progress. The Super League (top division) is in decent shape, but National Division 1 is patchy – not through lack of effort. You may wish to add extra players when setting up a save, although I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised about the amount of players and club information that is already in the game. There are mods available that will provide graphical improvements for everything except kits, although the kits are in decent shape anyway so that should be less of a problem. All the teams have their real names by default. If you are interested in helping us make Zambia even better, please do drop me a line. Sources on Zambian Football: If you want to learn more about football in Zambia, I highly recommend https://zambianfootball.co.zm/. If you want to learn about the clubs, very few of them have their own websites. Their default method of communication is Facebook. Zambia has a high percentage of English speakers and nearly all written football discussion is carried out in the language. Edited November 17, 2023 by BeeInExile lost a paragraph 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
starbugg Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 An interesting read, thanks BeenInExile. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeInExile Posted November 17, 2023 Author Share Posted November 17, 2023 1 minute ago, starbugg said: An interesting read, thanks BeenInExile. Glad you enjoyed it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iAlwaysWin Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 I Appreciate the work you put into this, i actually had a good read because am a Football Fanatic and like to learn about Football Cultures different to my own, but i doubt i will ever manage there, outside Europe i only manage in south america as i love Boca Juniors. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeiranShikari Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Enjoyable read and a good sales pitch for the league. I'm in, the bad news boys are under new management. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizeman21 Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Great work here, BeeInExile. Let's try it out! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyny Posted November 18, 2023 Share Posted November 18, 2023 A great read thanks. I actually had a fun save on FM23 with Zanaco. Always enjoy managing in Africa so I might try again on this year's edition. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vakama2619 Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Yo this is really interesting, I've considered a few save ideas but a save in Zambia does sound fun, are there any more posts like this, it's good to see people post to recommend a random Nation and tell us something interesting about them 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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