Mwepu remains buoyant
By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIA’s midfield genius Enock “Computer” Mwepu is confident that Zambia will qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations after missing the 2021 edition taking place in Cameroon.
Mwepu said the current group of Chipolopolo players will have to trust and believe in themselves to compete and qualify for Africa’s biggest football tournament.
The Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder said players will have to unite and fight to qualify for the tournament which plays a critical role in uniting Africa.
Mwepu said his dream was to represent Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations after being inspired by Zambian legends who represented the country at previous editions of the continental championships.
“Zambia played in so many Africa Cup of Nations tournament when I was a kid. So it was really entertaining for me whenever Zambia is playing, even if you don’t have TV set, you always go to your neighbour and just have to watch Zambia play, so they played or they presented us really well.
“And for me, it was one special moment that I looked forward to one day, I wish I can play the Africa Cup because those guys really inspired me a lot. It is just unfortunate that now I’m here and we didn’t qualify but hoping for something to come up in the future,” Mwepu said.
“An opportunity will definitely come for us to play at the Africa Cup of Nations. I think we have a group that there are so many positives we can take even if we failed to qualify in our group. Personally, I think we can do something going forward. All we need is just to be united and just try to compete.
Meanwhile, Mwepu said 2019 AFCON finalist Senegal and Algeria are the favourites to win this year’s edition of the championship which kicked off on Sunday with host Cameroon beating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the opening match in Yaoundé.
Mwepu said he would follow the games in Cameroon to learn from the clubs and the players competing for the prestigious AFCON title.
“The AFCON is the biggest tournament in Africa. And it really means a lot to us Africans, not just to footballers, but the fans as well,” the former NAPSA Stars player said.
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