Kalusha Bwalya

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Kalusha Bwalya
President of Football Association of Zambia (FAZ)
In office
2008–2016
Preceded byTeddy Mulonga
Succeeded byAndrew Kamanga
Personal details
Born (1963-08-16) 16 August 1963 (age 60)
Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia
NationalityZambian
OccupationFootballer (retired)
Football administrator
Association football career
Position(s)
winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Mufulira Blackpool
1980–1985
Mufulira
1985–1989 Cercle Brugge 95 (30)
1989–1994 PSV Eindhoven 101 (25)
1994–1997 América 88 (21)
1997
Necaxa
 17 (1)
1998
Al Wahda
1998
León
 13 (1)
1999
Irapuato
1999
Veracruz
2000 Correcaminos 13 (5)
International career
1983–2004 Zambia[1] 87 (39)
Managerial career
2003–2006 Zambia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kalusha Bwalya (born 16 August 1963) is a Zambian former professional footballer. He is Zambia's eighth-most capped player and third on the list of all-time top goalscorers behind Godfrey Chitalu and Alex Chola. Kalusha was named African Footballer of the Year in 1988 by the magazine France Football and was nominated for the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year where he was voted the 12th-best player in the world, the first to be nominated after playing the entire year for a non-European club.

His older brother

Cardiff City and Welsh national team member Robert Earnshaw
.

His career as a player, coach and president of the Football Association of Zambia is partly shown in the documentary film "Eighteam".[3]

On 20 March 2016, Kalusha lost the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elections in an upset to businessman-turned football official Andrew Kamanga by 163 to 156 votes.[4]

In August 2018, the world soccer governing body FIFA banned Bwalya for two years from all football-related activities at both national and international level. The FIFA adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee found him guilty of having violated article 16 (Confidentiality) and article 20 (Offering and accepting gifts and other benefits) of the FIFA Code of Ethics. It is alleged that Bwalya received a bribe in the form of a gift from Mohammed Bin Hammam, a Qatari official.[5] Kalusha is considered one of the greatest players in Zambian football history.[6]

Club career

Bwalya's career in Europe began at Cercle Brugge in Belgium. In his first season, he was the club's top scorer and was twice voted supporters' player of the year. Such was his impact that Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven took him to the Eredivisie, and he describes winning the championship twice in 1990/91 and 1991/92, under Bobby Robson, as a career highlight.

He jokingly adds that: "Most of the time we played in the opponents half, because the team was so good. You know, we had Romario, Gerald Vanenburg, Eric Gerets, Wim Kieft and Hans van Breukelen and just to be with that group, to train with them day in, day out, was an experience."

Bwalya's next stop was Club America, to whom he moved in 1994. The Mexican club's home ground is the legendary Azteca, an arena of which the Zambian icon has very fond memories. As he told FIFA.com: "I am privileged to have played in the best stadium in the world – and to have been able to call it my home ground." The Mexico experience in general was cherished by Bwalya, who devoted almost eight years of his career to the country and recalls his time there as "probably the best of my life"[citation needed].

On the international front, his earliest achievement was arguably one of the most remarkable hat-tricks in modern football history, with three-times World Cup champions Italy on the receiving end in a 4–0 win for the Zambians at the 1988 Olympics. Bwalya acknowledges that the result was a surprise, but adds: "Zambia is a sleeping giant in a way. It is a small country in terms of football, but we were the first African team to beat a European power as convincingly as that."

International career

Bwalya was a member of the national squad that participated at the

African Cup of Nations
.

Although he was captain of the national football team during the

Africa Cup in South Africa in 1996
, with Kalusha winning the Golden Boot Award as the top scorer at the tournament.

He was a player-coach during the African

direct free kick to give Zambia a 1–0 victory and the lead of Africa's Group 1.[9] However, Zambia finished third and failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup
.

Despite the failure to qualify, Bwalya coached Zambia at the

2006 African Cup of Nations
. Following their elimination in the first round, however, Bwalya resigned from his post. Kalusha's dream of holding the coveted AFCON trophy came 2012 when the Zambia National Football Team, which was underestimated by many football pundits upset the star-studded Ivory Coast to win the final of the 2012 tournament. As Zambian FA President, he joined the players and lifted the cup in a country where his former teammates perished in an aircraft disaster. This emotional story is narrated in the documentary film "Eighteam", directed by Juan Rodriguez-Briso.

He has nevertheless remained actively involved in international football, contributing to the 2006 World Cup as a member of FIFA's Technical Study Group. He was also one of the ambassadors of the 2010 World Cup which was held in South Africa.[10]

Administrative career

Bwalya serves as a standing committee member at FIFA and the Confederation of African Football and as of 2008 was the president of the Football Association of Zambia from 2008 to 2016. He lost the FA presidency to Andrew Kamanga when he attempted a third term bid in office during the 2016 FAZ AGM.[11] Previously he was vice president.

In the first half of 2006, Bwalya resigned from his position as the Zambia coach but having served as vice president of the Football Association of Zambia until 2008, he was voted in to be president as of 2008. This was as a result of pressure from members of the Football Association of Zambia as well as the media. On 23 February 2008, he was elected into the CAF Executive Committee.

Honours

Mufulira Wanderers

  • Zambian Challenge Cup
    : 1984

PSV

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ Kalusha Bwalya – International Goals rsssf.org
  2. ^ Football, CAF-Confedération Africaine du. "Joel Bwalya, Kalusha's often forgotten brother". CAFOnline.com.
  3. ^ "Eighteam (2014) – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Kalusha Bwalya unseated as Zambia FA president by Andrew Kamanga". BBC Sport. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  5. ^ Editor, EABW (10 August 2018). "Zambian Legend Kalusha Bwalya banned from football by FIFA". East African Business Week. Retrieved 19 May 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Oludare, Shina (28 April 2020). "'Their dreams are our dreams' – Bwalya in moving tribute to Zambia's late heroes". Goal. Retrieved 28 May 2021. the Zambian football great
  7. ^ Bwalya, Kalusha (28 April 2003). "Kalusha reflects on tragedy". BBC News.
  8. ^ Djazmi, Mani (10 February 2012). "Zambian footballers remember a lost generation of players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Late winner puts Zambia top" Archived 6 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine – liberiansoccer.com
  10. ISBN 978-6137279366
    .
  11. ^ "Football Association of Zambia (FAZ)". Retrieved 23 May 2018 – via Facebook.

External links

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