Chipolopolo coach George Lwandamina has attributed Zambia’s difficulties in assembling a strong and competitive national team partly to the country’s relatively small population.
Lwandamina was speaking after Zambia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Algeria in the opening match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers at the Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium.
The coach acknowledged Algeria’s strong performance, saying the hosts benefited from having a large population from which to draw a wider pool of footballing talent.
“Algeria enjoyed their game. They played well. Algeria has a new team, mind you. Algeria is one of the big countries in the world, so the population is very big and you have more options of players out there,” Lwandamina said.
He explained that Algeria’s large population gives its coaches a much broader pool of players to choose from when building the national team.
“You can even make 10 teams here in Algeria. But us, our population is very small,” he said.
Lwandamina’s comments came after Zambia struggled to contain Algeria, with the hosts eventually securing a convincing victory in the opening Group I encounter.
The result has placed Zambia under early pressure in the qualification campaign, with the Chipolopolo needing to recover in their subsequent matches if they are to secure a place at the 2027 AFCON finals.
While population size may influence the number of players available for selection, Zambia has traditionally produced footballers who have competed at both continental and international level. The country has also previously won the Africa Cup of Nations, lifting the trophy in 2012.
Lwandamina’s remarks therefore point to one of the challenges facing the national team: developing a sufficiently large and consistent pool of players capable of competing at the highest level.
For Zambia, expanding the development of young footballers could provide a way of widening the selection base. Stronger grassroots programmes, improved youth academies and greater opportunities for emerging players could help ensure that the national team has more options when established players are unavailable or out of form.
The coach will now be expected to work with the available players to improve the team’s performance as the AFCON qualifying campaign continues.
The defeat to Algeria will serve as an early test of Zambia’s ability to respond to setbacks and build a more competitive side. With qualification decided over a series of matches rather than a single encounter, the Chipolopolo still have an opportunity to strengthen their campaign and improve their position in the group.
For Lwandamina, however, the disparity in population between the two countries highlights the importance of making the most of Zambia’s available footballing talent.
Picture: Lwandamina
