women-from-zambia

"Competition for places is high and the league is tough so I just need to work hard to keep up with the competition"

"But it’s never possible to call up a player who was more than a year out of the game and even in training practice"

"She did not play any games. So for me, of course, when she’s back on the training pitch, which I hope is going to be soon, then she will be in focus for the national team"

"Hazel is a fantastic goalkeeper. She was at this tournament for Zambia. She’s already over a year out of play. So she did not train in any club"

"I have massive hope of relighting my career on the field of play within the possible time, everyone in New Zealand has been supportive and encouraging while I was out there injured. Massive thanks go to the Zambian Government, Sports Minister Mr Elvis Nkandu i really appreciate for the father figure role you played, The Football Association of Zambia, The Ministry and the people back home for the support and warm encouragement"

"The injury almost made me lose hope of ever going to play and walk nicely on both legs but the unmatched love and care in New Zealand gave me some hope"

"I went for a holiday at my grandma's place. And I really cried because I wanted to stay there and enjoy my sports career. So, I had to do that. And it really helped me a lot"

"I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude towards my stay in New Zealand , I got injured a few days to the biggest tournament which is the World Cup. A Tournament I have always wanted to participate [in] as a young dreamer"

"After years away from the pitch due to injury – years that were devastating, breaking, and emotional – I’m finally back. Thanks to Zesco Ndola Girls Football Club for this opportunity"

"I’m over the moon to announce that I’ve joined Zesco Ndola Girls Football Club"

"The development is very great and I feel everyone now is focused to say we can go further - even to those people that were doubting themselves are now encouraged"

"I feel it's a very great achievement, especially for women's football"

"Barbra keeps pushing us, telling us 'girls, we can do this' in every word that she speaks. She says 'we' and of course, it really encourages us to say 'OK, she's not playing but obviously she's among us"

"I feel good to be back on the pitch"

"It’s God’s time. I have been praying for this opportunity to play professional football outside Zambia for about 4-5 years and finally God has allowed it"

"I’m adapting to the new weather and the food here in China"

"I never dreamt of being a footballer. I used to play Netball and I was very good at it but one day my teacher told me to try and play as a football goalkeeper and that’s how my career started like a joke."

"For me, football is more than a game; it’s a way of life. We survive because of football. I feed my family through football, so I always make sure I work really hard and do my best during games"

"I am happy to be back and I am sure my experience will help Buffaloes. I know most of the players here and I will easily adapt"

"It felt so good [to score the penalty] because we normally [practice it] ; whenever we have a session, we train for it,"

"I think this was the sweetest victory we had"

"I really had so much trouble that I had to change where I would stay"

"I think we're not just physically on the field, but spiritually, in everything that we're doing, together"

"It feels so great. Kennedy is my inspiration so, for me, this is so encouraging and it really gives me more hope and more courage to keep on working extra hard"

"He called the next day. He was like 'you really adopted my spirits', and I was like, 'wow, yeah"

"I really want to experience more, because now it's at a senior level. I'm very excited and looking forward to the World Cup"

"That's the very year we also qualified for the Women's Africa Cup of Nations for the first time. If you look at the team that qualified for the Women's World Cup, half of it came from the U17 World Cup"

"I feel like that moment, that's where everything began"

"I think the moment I started being named in the national team, that's the time my parents stood up for me and began supporting me. My mom is now my biggest fan"

"She would encourage me. She told me to focus on school but also play football because I like it. So, she understood me so well and it really gave me the zeal to keep on going"

"She used to play netball, and in the process I wanted to do something different from her sport. So, I began playing football and from that time, it has been my favourite sport"

"We didn’t underrate Malawi; we came into the same with one team spirit, which has carried us through to the final of the tournament"

"Red Arrows has helped to improve my performances. The coaches have been encouraging me to work hard, and before we came here, they told me to work hard, and now I am scoring goals"

"I still want to play professional football outside the country. After all is done and I am back on the pitch, signing for a good team outside Zambia is one of my targets"

"Now that I have started playing, I just have to push harder to get back to the national team"

"I just have to push so that my team can finish the league in a good position"

"I feel even better about scoring two goals on my return to the Red Arrows squad. For the remaining matches, my personal target is to score 10 goals"

"Not everyone who starts the journey with you deserves to be with you at the end. You just need to realise who it is that you need to get to the next level"

"Just like our Grade 7 teachers were amazing, they were irrelevant for tertiary, right? Not because they were bad people, but they were not going to work for us. Many times in life, we are loyal to our own detriment."

"I have a love-hate relationship with Everest. It’s the weather, it’s the route… and when you acclimatise, you have to use supplemental oxygen.But you must never underestimate any mountain, because everyone has their own Everest."

"I came to papa in 2019 to visit with a friend of mine, and that's when I discovered that there was extreme poverty in the village."

"I’m a soldier in love with this game and I’m never gonna stop/ And this love hurts but oooh, it’s never gonna stop/ Natila ahhhwe, Ninaka"

"..Image lost in the translation, who I was and what you see, I’m a queen, I’m a mother, but I’m out here hustling …"

"Got that diva mentality but a beast on the mic / I got that butterfly swag but I bring the fist to the fight…"

"I dictate how I slice the cake I’m boss lady/ they hate how I wake and bake but stay amazing/ you couldn’t walk a quarter mile in my Jimmy Choo’s / I’m a born champion , I won’t stop / and I don't care if I win or lose /I'm holding onto my crown ,stay ahead and on top /single parenting /no procrastinating /I got to get up /God speed / we elevating /we celebrating / and even though we underrated, we keep the whole nation motivated and educated."

"Covid-19 did hit us, but we are excited to see that more people are looking to e-commerce as their preferred shopping channel."

"Having that partnership from Huawei to push our app in the app store really helped us, and we saw a big uptick in downloads."

"Influencer marketing has been a huge part of our strategy, as well as offline marketing through traditional media, which remains relevant in the African market."

"I started playing football when I was a very tender age, it was somewhere between 6 or 7 years old."

"Actually by the time I started, I used to play with boys because the academy that I was playing for didn't have the lady's team."