An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease
Chipolopolo (Copper Bullets)
2012 African champions. Zambia open qualifying against Algeria on 25 September 2026.
Road to AFCON 2027
Group I
Zambia
Current status: Qualifying
The top two in the group qualify for the finals. Six matches: home and away against each opponent.
No qualifier has been played yet — the table appears here after the first matchday.
Checked 21 September 2026 against CAF’s draw and fixture list.CAF fixtures
The number that defines Zambia
8–7
the shoot-out that made Zambia champions
Libreville, 12 February 2012: 0–0 with Côte d’Ivoire after extra time, then 14 successful kicks in a row before the Ivorians missed.
Iconic moment · 1974
Final and replay · Egypt 1974, Cairo
Zambia’s first AFCON ended in the only final ever replayed. They drew 2–2 with Zaire after extra time in Cairo, then lost the replay 2–0 two days later to a pair of goals from Ndaye Mulamba.
2025
Mali v Zambia — AFCON 2025 highlights
A saved penalty, then Patson Daka’s stoppage-time header in Casablanca.
Official highlights from CAF TV, embedded from YouTube. Travel Ease hosts no footage and is not a CAF partner; the video loads only when you press play.
Ready for the next chapter?
Tell us where you are coming from and when you want to travel. We plan the trip around Zambia’s matches as soon as CAF confirms where they play.
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The team now
Forward · Hamburg
Headed Zambia’s stoppage-time equaliser against Mali at AFCON 2025, and was CAF’s Zambia player to watch before that tournament.
Goalkeeper · Power Dynamos
Saved El Bilal Touré’s penalty in the same 1–1 draw with Mali, keeping Zambia in the game until Daka struck.
Forward · Al Fayha
Led Zambia’s counter-attacks in that draw with Mali, and brings experience of club football in Europe and Saudi Arabia.
From the 27-man squad named on 14 September 2026 for Algeria (25 Sep, Tizi-Ouzou) and Togo (29 Sep, Ndola) in qualifying. Clubs as at that announcement.
AFCON 2027 packages
Follow the Chipolopolo to East Africa. Each trip works from any host country, so it holds whichever group Zambia land in.
Fan5 nightsAny host country
A short trip built around a single fixture
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter8 nightsAny host country
Two fixtures, one trip
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter14 nightsAny host country
Travel with your side through the rounds
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Flights, hotels and match-day transport are quoted for your departure city — airlines and hotels have not released AFCON-period rates, so we price your exact trip rather than publish a guess.
Host countries
Explore the three host nations while we wait for Zambia’s official finals journey to be determined.
Safari country and East Africa’s busiest gateway
Kenya combines the region’s most connected international airport with the Maasai Mara and the Kenyan coast, making it the natural base for supporters who want football and safari in one trip.
Plan my tripZanzibar, Serengeti and the Indian Ocean
Tanzania offers the strongest holiday extension of the three hosts — Zanzibar’s beaches and the northern safari circuit are both within easy reach of the mainland gateways.
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The source of the Nile and gorilla country
Uganda is the most compact of the three hosts, with Entebbe close to Kampala and adventure travel — rafting at Jinja, gorilla trekking in the southwest — within reach of a tournament trip.
Plan my tripTickets are issued only through CAF’s authorised official ticketing. Travel Ease is not a ticket seller — we help you follow official Zambia ticket updates and build your journey around confirmed matches.
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SAFARI3 daysMaasai Mara
Kenya’s best-known reserve, reachable by light aircraft or road from Nairobi between match days.
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CITY1 dayNairobi
The national park on the city edge, the elephant orphanage and Karen — a full day without leaving Nairobi.
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BEACH4 daysZanzibar
The classic post-tournament wind-down: white sand, warm water and Stone Town, a short hop from Dar es Salaam.
Add to my tripThe story behind the shirt
The full story, the title years, the moments, the legends and every tournament — researched from CAF and dated where it can change.
Zambia’s AFCON legacy
Zambia’s story at the Africa Cup of Nations runs through Libreville. In 1993 the plane carrying the national team to a World Cup qualifier in Senegal crashed shortly after taking off from the Gabonese capital, and 18 members of the squad were killed. Kalusha Bwalya survived only because he was making his own way from his Dutch club. A year later a rebuilt team reached the 1994 final in Tunisia, beating Mali 4–0 in the semi-final before losing 2–1 to Nigeria.
Nineteen years after the crash, the final came to Libreville. Hervé Renard’s side, captained by Christopher Katongo, beat Senegal, topped their group, put three past Sudan and knocked out Ghana 1–0 in the semi-final. Against a Côte d’Ivoire team that had not conceded all tournament, Zambia held out for 120 minutes, saw Didier Drogba miss a penalty, and won a shoot-out in which the first 14 kicks were scored. Stoppila Sunzu’s kick made it 8–7; Katongo was named the tournament’s best player.
Nineteen years after the crash, the final came to Libreville. Hervé Renard’s side, captained by Christopher Katongo, beat Senegal, topped their group, put three past Sudan and knocked out Ghana 1–0 in the semi-final. Against a Côte d’Ivoire team that had not conceded all tournament, Zambia held out for 120 minutes, saw Didier Drogba miss a penalty, and won a shoot-out in which the first 14 kicks were scored. Stoppila Sunzu’s kick made it 8–7; Katongo was named the tournament’s best player.
That title crowns a long record near the top: a place in the final at their first attempt in 1974, lost to Zaire in the only AFCON final ever replayed, and third places in 1982, 1990 and 1996, when Kalusha was player of the tournament. Wins have been harder to come by since — Zambia have not won a finals match in open play since the 2012 semi-final, and at Morocco 2025 they went out in the group after draws with Mali and Comoros and a 3–0 defeat by the hosts.
The road back starts in Group I, alongside Algeria, Togo and Burundi, with two places available. George Lwandamina’s squad opens away to Algeria in Tizi-Ouzou on 25 September 2026 and hosts Togo at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola four days later.
1 title
Champions
Côte d’Ivoire beaten 8–7 on penalties in Libreville.
Tap a year for the story of that title.
1974
Finalists on debut
Beaten by Zaire in the only replayed final.
1982
Third place
The first of three bronze medals.
1990
Third place
A second bronze.
1993
The Gabon air disaster
Eighteen members of the squad die after take-off from Libreville.
1994
Runners-up
Beaten 2–1 by Nigeria a year after the crash.
1996
Third place
Kalusha Bwalya best player and top scorer.
2012
Champions
Côte d’Ivoire beaten 8–7 on penalties in Libreville.
2025
Group stage
Two draws, then a 3–0 defeat by the hosts.
Iconic moments
1994
Semi-final and final · Tunisia 1994
The rebuilt Zambia beat Mali 4–0 in the semi-final in Tunis, Kalusha Bwalya among the scorers, and led Nigeria in the final through Elijah Litana after three minutes. Emmanuel Amunike scored twice to win it 2–1 for Nigeria.
2012
Final · Gabon and Equatorial Guinea 2012, Libreville
Close to where the 1993 team died, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire played out 120 goalless minutes. Kennedy Mweene scored in the shoot-out and stopped Kolo Touré, Rainford Kalaba missed a chance to win it, and Stoppila Sunzu’s kick made Zambia champions for the first time.
2025
Group A · Morocco 2025, Casablanca
Mali led through Lassine Sinayoko on the hour and goalkeeper Willard Mwanza had already saved an El Bilal Touré penalty when Patson Daka headed Zambia’s equaliser in stoppage time.
AFCON legends
1990s
Missed the 1993 flight because he was travelling separately, starred in the 1994 and 1996 runs, and was in Libreville to celebrate with the 2012 champions.
Best player and top scorer, with five goals, at AFCON 1996; scored in the 4–0 semi-final win over Mali in 1994.
2010s
Captain of the 2012 champions.
Captained Zambia in every match of the 2012 finals, scored three goals and was named the tournament’s best player.
Goalkeeper · 2010s
The goalkeeper who scored in the 2012 final shoot-out.
Converted his own kick in Libreville and saved Kolo Touré’s.
Defender · 2010s
Scorer of the kick that won the 2012 title.
A centre-back then with TP Mazembe, he also opened the scoring in the 3–0 quarter-final win over Sudan.
Coach · 2010s
The coach of the 2012 champions.
The only coach to win AFCON with two countries — Zambia in 2012 and Côte d’Ivoire in 2015.
Statistics
– match figures not yet verified for that edition.
The 2012 final was played in Libreville, close to where the plane carrying the 1993 team crashed.
Côte d’Ivoire reached the 2012 final without conceding a goal. Zambia kept them out for another 120 minutes.
Zambia’s 1974 final against Zaire is the only AFCON final ever to go to a replay.
The 4–0 semi-final win over Mali in 1994 is still Zambia’s joint-biggest victory at the finals.
Two Zambians have been named AFCON’s best player: Kalusha Bwalya in 1996 and Christopher Katongo in 2012.
Once, in 2012, beating Côte d’Ivoire 8–7 on penalties after a goalless final in Libreville. They were also runners-up in 1974 and 1994.
The final was played in Libreville, close to where the plane carrying Zambia’s national team crashed in 1993, killing 18 members of the squad.
Hervé Renard. He later won the title with Côte d’Ivoire in 2015 and remains the only coach to have won AFCON with two countries.
They went out in the group stage: 1–1 with Mali, 0–0 with Comoros, then a 3–0 defeat by hosts Morocco.
Not yet. Qualifying begins on 24 September 2026. Zambia are in Group I with Algeria, Togo and Burundi; the top two qualify. They open away to Algeria on 25 September and host Togo on 29 September.
Sources · checked 21 September 2026
Historical figures cover AFCON finals tournaments only. Qualification, squads and rankings change — each is dated where it appears.
AFCON 2027
Travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — arranged from anywhere in Africa and the diaspora.
Travel Ease Company is an independent travel agency. We are not an official CAF or AFCON partner, sponsor, supplier or ticketing agent, and we are not affiliated with the Confédération Africaine de Football.
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Fixtures and venues. Fixtures, host cities and qualification are determined and published by CAF. We show them only once officially confirmed.
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