About Kalusha Bwalya
Zambia’s Sports Man of the Century and 2010 FIFA World Cup Ambassador, Kalusha Bwalya is the founder of the Kalusha Bwalya Foundation Trust.
Born on 16th August 1963 in the Copperbelt mining town of Mufurila, The Great Kalu, as he is fondly called by millions of people, has criss-crossed the planet winning various accolades for his legendary contribution to the game.
Today, he is the President of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ).
He also serves on the CAF and FIFA technical and administration committees.
“Magic Left”
Kalusha played for the Chipolopolo for two decades, appearing at a record six African Nations Cup finals – the crowning moment of his national team career coming in 1988 when he became the first and only African player to score a hat-trick against World Champions Italy.
Kalusha shone against the Italians as he ensured Zambia became the first country in modern day Olympic Games to reach the quarter-finals.
Famous for what fans branded ‘magic left’ because of his dribbling wizardry and knack for sensational goals, Kalusha led Zambia to silver at the 1994 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, losing the final to Nigeria 2-1 barely a year after Zambia lost 18 players in the Gabon Air Disaster of April 28 1993 which claimed 30 people. Kalusha survived the crash as he did not have to take the plane because he had to fly direct from his European base to Dakar.
Fifa World Cup 2010
Going into the 2010 qualifiers, Kalusha believes everything is possible in football.
“We have a dream and we can dream. In football everything is possible and we believe that we can. We are 200% committed to the job and the support of the government, the Zambian football family and indeed every stakeholder, we can achieve many great things for Zambia,” Bwalya says.
