The Zambian national football team, who surprisingly won the 2012 African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, are set for a training camp in Goa in November 2012 ahead of the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa next January and February.The Zambians under coach Hervé Renard would repeat what they did exactly a year earlier in November 2011 when they had come to Goa for a training camp and also played two friendly matches against a Goa XI (4-1) and Team India (5-0).
Interestingly, the Zambians spoke very highly about their preparatory camp in Goa, which they said was one of the reasons why they achieved success at the continental stage. Now their sponsors Konkola Copper Mines, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources from India, are set to organise a second such trip to India to prepare the national team.
A 10-day trip is being worked out by Konkola Copper Mines with the KCM Chief Executive Officer Jeyakumar Janakaraj saying that during the trip Zambia would again look to play two friendly matches against either Team India or Goan I-League sides.
In the last training tour of India coach Hervé Renard had found the talented trio of Nathan Sinkala, Hichani Himoonde and Chisamba Lungu, who went on to make the African Cup of Nations squad and went on to become key members of the ‘Chipolopolo’ as Zambia won her maiden continental title by beating mightly Ivory Coast in the final.
