By GRACE CHAILE –
FOUR players have beefed up the Shepolopolo training camp preparing for next month’s Namibia 2014 Africa Women Championships.
Joining the squad were Mirriam Katamanda, Emeldah Musonda, Susan Banda and Deborah Chisala bringing the number of players in camp to 27 from the 30 that were summoned by coach Charles Bwale.
Team manager Chibwe Besa said in an interview that the quartet joined camp on Thursday night and were part of yesterday’s training session conducted at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka (OYDC).
Besa said Grace Chanda and Tiza Chibale are expected to join the team today while skipper Kabange Mupopo, who is out in Morocco for the Inter-Continental Athletics Championship, will join the team next week.
She expressed happiness with the players’ determination in training, saying that their fitness levels had improved and that it was the hope of the coaching bench that players joining camp late would match up.
Besa said the team would take the friendly match against Cameroon, whose date is yet set, seriously as it would help shape up the team ahead of the competition.
“We want to prepare adequately and head to Namibia as competitors and not as mere participants because we also want to make a name for ourselves by qualifying for the World Cup finals,” she said.
Zambia is in Group A along with seven-time African champions Nigeria, Ivory Coast and hosts Namibia.
