Ashley Nakazwe

The Zambia Senoir Women’s National Football team had a training session at the Imboela Stadium on June 6th, 2023.

The Copper Queens who continue their preparations for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take on the Twiga Stars on June 11th before leaving the county for the international camp in Germany where they have three friendlies set against Germany, Ireland & Switzerland.

During the session while speaking to the media, Team Captain Barbra Banda emphasized the importance of preparing adequately for the set friendlies as neither of the scheduled teams to play are small. “The morale is very high, We have competition in camp. The number of players is good and everyone can show the Coach what they are capable of” she added.

Prisca Chilufya who has been in and out of the team having missed the match in South Korea but played in the Turkish Cup feels lucky to be in back and training with the Copper Queens. “I’m very much prepared for the friendly against Tanzania as we will be giving hope to the fans that will be supporting us at the World Cup. My message to the fans is that they must come in numbers so that they can see how we will perform. It’s always good to have fans at your home ground as it gives morale and the team is always motivated. “

The Copper Queens are drawn alongside Japan, Costa Rica and Spain in Group C, Rachel Kundanji who is the second highest goal scorer in the Spanish Ladies Premier league expressed the importance of her continuing the performance she’s being displaying at her club while playing for the National team. “My own understanding of Football is that it doesn’t matter how well you know a person. What matters is how prepared the person comes on the actual day” she said when asked how much knowledge she has about Spain and how she’s feeling knowing that she’ll be playing alongside some of the players she’s familiar with .

Furthermore, Coach Bruce Mwape also emphasized the importance of the match against Tanzania. “looking at the number of players we’ve got (35), it’s a big number and we need to trim that number. Sunday’s game against Tanzania will help us assess the players that will be included in the squad from the players that have already been selected.”