AFTER almost 30 year, I recently found myself back at the house the late Times of Zambia Sports Editor Ridgeway Liwena built adjacent to the then popular Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium in Ndola not to reminisce about the good-old-days but to attend evening prayers for a relative’s spouse who had passed on after a short illness.
Liwena, who inspired most of us to apply for plots to the Ndola City Council (NCC) had advertised and built our own houses in the early 1980s, sold the property upon his return to Lusaka on promotion, as editor of the Sunday Times of Zambia.
Before his transfer, I had been a regular visitor at his beautiful house located next to the road leading to the stadium, off Dag Hammarskjoeld Drive and opposite POTECO Flats in Itawa.
In those days, all roads in the country used to lead to Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium, which had, for soccer fans, become what Mecca is to Muslims – a place every pilgrim must visit at least once in a lifetime.
In other words, it was the focal point of Zambia’s football because fans from all corners of the country used to flock to Dag (as it was famously referred to) every time an important soccer match, like a cup final between traditional archrivals Mighty Mufulira Wanderers and Magnificent Kabwe Warriors or Rhokana United, the Red Devils, was billed for the 30,000 capacity arena.
The stadium, which could also be likened to London’s Wembley Stadium (the venue of the English FA Cup finals) was always packed to the rafters with chanting and singing soccer-mad fans, while traders in the city centre and food vendors outside the stadium made a skilling as business was quite brisk.
It was also not uncommon in those days to see hordes of visiting football supporters from the Midlands and other Copperbelt towns relaxing at the city’s popular spots like the Under-Tavern at the Broadway Cinema, the BSEL Club, Falcon Hotel, Buffs Club, Raylton Club and the Ndola United Clubhouse before descending on the arena to witness the grand finale refereed by FIFA-certified referees such as Arthur Davies, Kabalamula Chayu, Francis Kapansa, Train Viyuyi, Watton Sinkala, Winston Gumboh and Bennett Simfukwe.
The atmosphere in the entire City of Ndola and at the stadium itself was simply electric particularly when FAZ announced well in time that President Kaunda and some of his Cabinet ministers would be in attendance.
For foreign teams, any match scheduled for Dag meant a bad omen – most of them met their Waterloos there.
Because very few escaped unscathed Dag was commonly referred to as the ‘Graveyard’ of visiting sides because the Zambian National XI was invincible at this venue named after former United Nations (UN) secretary-general Dag Hammarskjoeld of Sweden; who perished in a mysterious plane crash outside Ndola near Twapia Township on September 17, 1961.
(It is understood aviation experts are still trying to establish circumstances that led to the DC-10 plane transporting the UN’s second secretary-general and his party from a failed peace mission in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) after secessionist leader Moise Tshombe had declared himself president of the mineral-rich Katanga (Shaba) province of the former Belgian Congo.)
Unfortunately, and much to the fury of Swedish authorities in Oslo and other stakeholders who had supported its construction, Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium was destroyed in 1986 at the recommendation of the then minister of sports, in the hope of replacing it with an ‘ultra-modern’ arena suitable for hosting the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals.
However, that was never to be and Zambia was surcharged by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the tournament switched to Morocco.
Most soccer fans were appalled at what amounted to ‘state vandalism’ of a super structure that had come to symbolise Zambian football, especially after independence in 1964 when Ndola City Council took over it.
All ambitious soccer players – amateur and professional alike – dreamed of a day they would feature in a cup final played at Dag. It is no exaggeration to state that Dag inspired many, including referees, linesmen, ball-boys, club officials of the competing sides, sports  journalists and Zambia Police and Zambia National Defence Force (ZNDF) bands that entertained the crowds before kick-off and at half-time.
Outside the venue long queues formed at the turnstiles amid a sea of cars of all shapes and sizes massed around the stadium like bees on a huge hive.
Traffic police officers on the beat also had some pleasant tales to tell when assigned to direct on-coming traffic at the stadium and its environs. Dag meant much to a lot of people, which is why its ‘demise’ was deeply mourned by football lovers from across the nation.
If you asked me, I would stick my neck out and say that although Zambia won the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2012, football in the country started to experience its inexorable decline after the destruction of Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium in 1986. Many may want to disagree but where is the evidence to the contrary?
Look at the empty stadiums these days.  Are Zambians poorer now than they were immediately after independence? Where have all the spectators gone? Fishing?
I believe former president Levy Mwanawasa – a keen football player in his formative years and who attended National Football League (NFL) and cup matches at Mufulira Blackpool’s John Kachofa Stadium, Shinde Stadium ( the home of Muf Wanderers), and Matero Stadium, the home of the ever resilient Lusaka Tigers – felt the need to ‘resurrect’ Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium because it played a vital role in the socio-economic well-being of the country and its people.
As a former Chiwala Secondary School student, a law intern in the NCC’s town clerk’s department and later a practising attorney who resided in Pungwa Street, which is only a stone’s throw away from the stadium, Dr Mwanawasa as State president, also understood the importance of Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium to the City of Ndola, as the provincial capital of the mineral-rich Copperbelt and home to the annual Zambia International Trade Fair (ZITF).
He rolled up his sleeves and got down to serious business, looking for prospective sponsors for the grand ‘revival’. When approached, the Chinese government was forthcoming and initially released US $6.5 million for the design of a 70,000 capacity stadium.
But that was not without a rider: Beijing civil engineers agreed but insisted on a new site and a new name, reportedly on the grounds that Dag Hammarskjoeld had been active in opposing the People’s Republic of China’s application to join UN (at the expense of Taiwan) since the Swedish diplomat assumed the global post in 1953.
Ideally the stadium should have been reconstructed at its original site, but Zambian authorities, eager to get the project off the ground, acceded to the Chinese demand and found alternative space next to the National Rehabilitation Centre along the busy Ndola-Kitwe Dual Carriageway.
A local developer wanted to buy the piece of land where Dag was built before it was razed but the authorities would not sell the plot because of, among other things, the presence of the Ndola United Football Club Memorial for the three players – Joseph Chintu, Winnie Chama and Paul  Mulenga – who died in a road accident  on the Kabwe-Kapiri Mposhi road in 1969.
However, the only drawback with the massive Levy Mwanawasa Stadium is under-utilised and risks developing into a white-elephant; unless some thing is done quickly to change the status quo. I do not have any attendance figures to support my assertion but most people would agree that the arena is rarely filled to capacity whenever the Zambia National XI, the Chipolopolo, or any of the Ndola-based FAZ Premier League teams is using the arena for home matches.
One explanation could be that unlike Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium, which was centrally located inside the city and nearer the Ndola Airport (now Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe), the Mwanawasa Stadium is at the periphery and isolated from most of the densely populated townships of Ndeke, Masala, Mushili, Kantolomba, Lubuto West, Kabushi, Chipulukusu (now Mapalo), Nkwazi, Pamodzi, Kawama, Chifubu and Northrise.
Only Peter Singogo Police Camp, Kanini (which was humorously referred to as ‘Little Bombay’ in the colonial days), Kansenshi, Hillcrest, Monkey Fountain Zoo and Twapia township can be said to be within its catchment area. The question is: How many soccer fans live in the six locations to help fill the 70, 000-seat stadium?
As for the visiting soccer fans from the Midlands and beyond, they have to ‘glide’ or rumble through the Ndola Central Business District (CBD) to get to the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on the western side of the city.
Business people would have every reason to cry foul because unlike before they are now losing out. Why?
Given the rising cost of fuel, soccer lovers from Kitwe, Luanshya, Mufulira and other Copperbelt towns now have little incentive to drive into the heart of the city for their meals or shopping.
Their trips to Ndola end at LMS where they simply watch their favourite sides in action and return to their respective towns the moment the referee blows the final whistle.
To make the stadium popular and more profitable for the investors, facilities including the conference hall/s should leased to private entrepreneurs who can start to run boutiques, air salons (correct), restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Halls can still be hired out for weddings and wedding anniversaries and birthday parties and corporate functions, as at present. The idea is to rationalize LMS operations and keep it busy 24/7 instead of depending for ZESCO United and Zambia National XI matches. Running and cycling tracks can be hired out to athletics and cycling clubs at a fee.
Rugby and cricket are gradually becoming popular in Zambia so ruggers and cricketers should have easy access to the arena for their special events, of course, at a fee and money so raised used to pay workers and keep the facilities, including the playing surface, in tip top condition at all times.
The Levy Mwanawasa Stadium cannot be transplanted across the Kafubu River to its original site in Itawa but authorities can revisit the Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium reconstruction issue.
Zesco United is emerging as a powerhouse in Zambian football and needs its own home ground. As a viable business concern in the country, I believe the power utility company possesses the necessary financial wherewithal to take up the challenge and rebuild Dag, as the basic infrastructure is already there.
The Swedish government, which had stopped funding some of Zambia’s health programmes, has started doing so once again. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to approach them on the issue as equity partners? Circumstances have changed so dramatically on the East-West that they may want to get on board as the Swedes’ practical philanthropy is probably second to none.
I believe a reconstructed Dag will not only give Ndola a second modern stadium but it will also help restore the City’s status in the country and the region as the Mecca of Zambian soccer that it was in the by-gone days when all roads always led to the fabulous Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium for the Castle Cup, Shell Challenge Cup, Heinrichs Chibuku Cup finals or the Zambia Schools XI versus touring West Ham United or Nottingham Forest youths.
Many of the soccer stars of the past like Elijah Mwale, Gibbon ‘Nigger’ Chewe, Thomas Bwalya,  Robertson Zulu, Dick Chama and acrobatic goalkeeper Philip Sabu became household names in Zambia and beyond partly because of their five-star performances in a packed Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium.

Dear Mr Mulenga,
Hope you are doing good. Just finished reading your article on the aforementioned subject, (Kitwe could be cut off without Kafue Bridge) which appeared in Saturday Times of Zambia issue number 17, 167 and I must state that it was quite a very a detailed and insightful piece of work.
I only hope Government and other stakeholders take most your suggestions into consideration as this will greatly reduce the cost of doing business. I just hope (too) that the momentum of Link-Zambia 8000 is not derailed.
Once again thanks for the article as I enjoyed reading it.
Chabu H Mundubwe,    Kasama.
Comments: alfredmulenga777@gmail.com