{"id":2620,"date":"2021-03-25T16:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T16:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/?p=2620"},"modified":"2023-01-13T10:28:56","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T10:28:56","slug":"hero-footballers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/2021\/03\/25\/hero-footballers\/","title":{"rendered":"Hero Footballers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Roan Soccer Field
Do those boys even know that they are treading on hallowed turf?
Ginger Pensulo scored the most important goal in Zambian history here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Satish Sekar \u00a9 Satish Sekar (March 25th<\/sup> 2021)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heroes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tonight Zambia take on Group H leaders, Algeria, in a vital qualification match \u2013 a must win for the Chipolopolo. The Desert Foxes are currently unbeaten in 22 matches \u2013 three years \u2013 under coach Djamel Belmadi. The venue is fitting \u2013 National Heroes Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few countries boast national hero footballers like tonight\u2019s opponents. Algeria led the way with footballers prepared to risk all. The Conf\u00e9d\u00e9ration Africaine de Football (CAF) was established in 1957 \u2013 the first Africa Cup of Nations followed a month later. Neither Algeria nor Zambia participated, but both would soon make their mark on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Algerian origin footballers were playing in France. They missed out on the World Cup, but Just Fontaine was not just born in Morocco, he was developed there. Fontaine went on to star in the World Cup in Sweden, scoring 13. He no longer holds the record for the most goals scored in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup Finals. In FIFA World Cup Finals, Miroslav Klose, 16, Ronaldo de Lima, 15 \u00a0and Gerd M\u00fcller, 14, pushed him into fourth place. But his total in a single edition of the World Cup Finals \u2013 he only ever played in one \u2013 remains unsurpassed and probably never will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the African born Fontaine was making his name in 1958 other African players in Europe were writing their names large in African and football history. The FLN (Front de Liberation Nationale) Team are still revered in the North-African nation and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stade de Reims footballer Mohamed Maouche used his marriage to Khadidja to execute a secret FLN plan to recruit Algerian footballers to the cause of Algerian liberation. Khadidja\u2019s role was crucial \u2013 recruiting players to the cause. They abandoned their teams in France, and with it the chance of glory in French football and perhaps the world stage \u2013 some had been part of France\u2019s World Cup Squad of 1958. Instead, they risked a hazardous journey to play for their country \u2013 literally. Some didn\u2019t make it. Maouche did. They made their way from France to Switzerland and then Italy before reaching the FLN\u2019s base in Tunisia. Among the countries they brought the FLN\u2019s liberation message to was Hungary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sacrifice<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The FLN Team were football ambassadors. They were founded in April 1958 \u2013 before the World Cup \u2013 meaning some sacrificed their only chance of World Cup glory to play for Algeria\u2019s national cause. Among the legends of the FLN Team to make that sacrifice was Rachid Mekhloufi. The FLN Team was disbanded in June 1962 \u2013 Algeria was independent. A year later the Algerian national team took their place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mekhloufi returned to play in France for his old team Saint-\u00c9tienne. To his surprise, his first touch was loudly cheered. Charles de Gaulle, President of France during Algeria\u2019s War of Independence, greeted Mekhloufi warmly after his return to play in France, telling him, ‘You are France!’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Southern Africa\u2019s Liberation Football Comes of Age<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zambia\u2019s story is also one of liberation football. While South Africa and Southern Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) languished under a virulently racist and violent crime against humanity Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) endured a racist but softer colonial regime. Undoubtedly white supremacist, Northern Rhodesia\u2019s white \u00e9lite were in for a surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Football was a vital part of the colonial economy \u2013 strange but true. Productivity in the mines increased if the team won. This was quickly noticed, leading mines welfare departments to champion football. The races were not permitted to mix and even football was segregated, but its time had come. Football was ready to make a real impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There had been matches between the races before. They had been one-offs. But in April 1961 all that changed. Roan Callies Antelopes (an all-white team) and Roan Mines Team (an all-black team) merged and challenged the all-white Mufulira United to a match. Mufulira United accepted. This was the first match played by Roan United, although the team was called United Roan and this was a one-off match that proved vital for football and Zambia too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ground, shamefully neglected, doesn\u2019t even have a plaque marking the spot. Nor does its home-town, Luanshya, an incredible source of football talent, celebrate a very important fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Legend of Legends<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ginger Pensulo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Its illustrious son, John Mulenga (better known as Ginger Pensulo), scored the only goal in that match \u2013 the most important goal in his country\u2019s history. Why? It began the integration of Zambia\u2019s football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The match was illegal \u2013 football did not care. There were no arrests. More matches took place \u2013 still no arrests. All were satisfied. During the football, the supporters were not on the streets demonstrating and the workers got to enjoy supporting their team, but an important message was missed. From childhood the races had been taught white was right and might and all the rest scrambled for scraps below. They could not socialise or work together as equals. They could not be friends either. There was a definite pecking order, but football broke it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blacks and whites played on the same team as a team \u2013 they identified as a team and worked together and for each other \u2013 the very things both races had been taught could not happen, but it did. Other sports got the message, and then society too. Three and a half years after Pensulo\u2019s goal shook the foundations of racism in the sport, a lot more shook \u2013 Zambia became independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A stone\u2019s throw from tonight\u2019s venue, the new government of Zambia gave a nod to football \u2013 the Independence Cup. Zambia did badly apart from the final a 4-3 loss to African champions, Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope that when the Zambian and Algerian players pull their jerseys on tonight each of them will spare a thought for the hero footballers of the 1960s who made it all possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Presentation of Natham Sinkala’s Stellenbosch shirt to Ginger pensulo by Joseph Mapulanga and Willie Chifita<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tonight Zambia take on Group H leaders, Algeria, in a vital qualification match \u2013 a must win for the Chipolopolo. The Desert Foxes are currently unbeaten in 22 matches \u2013 three years \u2013 under coach Djamel Belmadi. The venue is fitting \u2013 National Heroes Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[20,19,23,24,22],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2620"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3659,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2620\/revisions\/3659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowersmag.com\/empowersmagwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}