ZAMBIA 1993 PLANE CRASH: FROM TRAGEDY TO GLORY

Today, Zambia remembers its golden generation of footballers - killed in a plane crash thirty two years ago. On 27 April 1993, the country was only one game away from qualifying for its maiden FIFA World Cup tournament. Carrying the dreams and aspirations of an entire nation, the team flew out to Senegal to play that crucial fixture. They never arrived as their plane crashed off the coast of Gabon’s capital, Libreville, where they had stopped to refuel. Three decades later, the nation still mourns loss of the side widely considered the best to have worn the national jersey. But their memory has inspired future generations. In a symbolic and poignant fashion, Zambia won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations held in Libreville, a few miles from the crash site.

Sources

https://www.impactnetwork.org/latest-news/it-was-written-in-the-sky

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/czrgm6grxvlo

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/feb/14/weekly-sports-diary-17-february

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-04-30-the-30th-anniversary-of-the-1993-plane-crash-that-ended-the-dreams-of-zambias-national-soccer-team/

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/czrgm6grxvlo