Zambia to Mourn Thirtieth Anniversary of Plane Crash Disaster

Thirty years on, Zambian football will commemorate this Friday those who lost their lives in the 1993 Gabon plane crash disaster.

Among the 30 people killed were 18 footballers known as part of the ‘golden generation’ of Zambian football. The Zambian air force plane on which they were travelling crashed off the Gabon coast after refuelling en route to Dakar, where Senegal were hosting Zambia in a World cup qualifier.

The team, burgeoning with international talent, was tipped to top their qualifier group for the 1994 U.S.-hosted tournament, in what would have been Zambia’s first appearance at a World Cup.

After taking off from Libreville, engine failure led to a crash into the sea which took the lives of all on board – starting players, substitutes, coaches, support staff, and crew alike.

Four players chose to fly from Europe rather than Lusaka. Team captain Kalusha Bwalya watched the news unfold from the Netherlands, where he was playing for a dominant Bobby Robson-managed PSV Eindhoven side.

Two months after the tragedy, Bwalya led what was practically an entirely new Zambia side to victory over Morocco in their World Cup qualifiers. Two Bwalyas, Kalusha and Johnson, led the side to a comeback 2-1 victory in front of a roaring Lusaka home crowd at the Independence Stadium.

Bwalya spoke about the impact the crash had on that performance. “The friends we had lost we had in our thoughts, and we gave such a wonderful performance for them,” he said.

One year later, Zambia were in the AFCON 1994 final, losing 2-1 to African giants Nigeria.

The crash victims were buried by Independence Stadium, and tomorrow’s ceremony will be held by their final resting place. Tributes will also be paid at the newly-constructed National Heroes Stadium.

Ten years ago, two decades after the crash, Zambia finally won AFCON, in Gabon of all places.

Days before the final, Zambia players threw flowers into the sea where bodies were recovered and, much like their 1993 World Cup qualifier predecessors, the memory of those lost played a central part in their victory. Coach Hervé Renard said, “We wanted to honour the dead players and that strengthened us. The plane crashed in Gabon and we won the final in Gabon. It is a sign of destiny”.

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