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President Hakainde Hichilema has directed the Ministries of Lands, Youth, Sport and Arts, Local Government, and other relevant institutions to ensure that, as a minimum planning requirement, every new housing or corporate settlement includes designated and adequately developed sports and recreational facilities for youths and the general public in their localities.
The President has also called for a sports revolution beginning in 2026, anchored on rebuilding infrastructure and strengthening school and community grassroots sports facilities across the country as centres for talent identification and development.
The directive was contained in a statement issued in Lusaka on Monday by State House Chief Communications Specialist, Clayson Hamasaka, conveying the President’s solidarity with the Zambia Men’s National Football Team following their exit from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament currently taking place in Morocco.
“While defeat is never easy, President Hakainde Hichilema understands, both personally and as a competitor, what loss feels like and how it must not warrant condemnation,” Hamasaka said.
Hichilema further called for sustained dialogue and partnership among all stakeholders, sports institutions and government to chart a clear and collective path forward.
“More importantly, he understands the value of returning to the drawing board, to reassess, to re-plan, to re-strategise, and ultimately to re-launch with renewed purpose,” he said.
The President said the moment marked the beginning of a new national journey of introspection, rediscovery and the deliberate reclaiming of Zambia’s proud sporting history.
“Like any well-conceived and sustainable plan, this journey will demand time, hard work, collaboration and patience.
A culture that seeks instant results is neither helpful nor sustainable in rebuilding a strong and enduring foundation,” Hichilema said.
He recalled that Zambia was once a regional and continental sporting powerhouse, built on a vibrant grassroots sports culture.
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The President noted that local authority community sports facilities played a critical role in identifying and nurturing talent across all sporting disciplines.
“Our schools produced football ‘schoolboy internationals’ through well-structured and fiercely competitive inter-provincial sporting tournaments,” he said.
Hichilema described it as saddening and heartbreaking that, in recent years, much of the grassroots sports infrastructure in schools and local authorities had been lost through unregulated and, in most cases, corruptly acquired means.
He said the loss of such infrastructure had weakened the very foundation upon which sporting excellence was built.
“This is not an end, but a reset, and an opportunity to rebuild Zambian sports deliberately, inclusively, and for lasting success,” the President emphasised.
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