Team Profile: Zambia Women’s National Under-17 Football Team
- Nickname: Copper Princesses (also referred to as Junior She-polopolo)
- Association: Football Association of Zambia (FAZ)
- Founded: Part of the women’s football structure formally organized by FAZ in 1983.
- Kit Colours: Green jersey, green shorts, and green socks.
Overview
The Copper Princesses represent Zambia in international under-17 football. The team operates within a national women’s football structure that includes senior and under-20 sides, supported by FAZ budgeting. By 2009, Zambia had over 200 registered women’s teams across senior and youth levels. However, the team and women’s football in Africa face systemic challenges, including societal inequalities, poverty, player migration, and reliance on FIFA rather than local association funding.
Competitive Record
The team regularly competes in CAF and FIFA-sanctioned tournaments, primarily the African Women U-17 Championship and the FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifiers.
- African Women U-17 Championship / FIFA U-17 World Cup Qualifiers:
- 2008: Entered qualification, eliminated in the preliminary round by Ghana (0-2, 0-4).
- 2010 & 2012: Participated in qualification tournaments.
- 2012 Campaign: Coached by Beauty Mwamba with Angela Sunga as assistant. Defeated Botswana (5-1, 2-0) but was eliminated by Nigeria (1-2, 0-5). Suspicion over the age eligibility of Nigerian players led to a non-appeal by Zambia due to the prohibitive cost (US$2,000), raising questions about ongoing support for the team.
