During the past weeks I have met with the lead persons at the helm of Breakthrough Sports Academy (BSA); met with the various teams, as well as, held our first meeting together with the Director, coaches and players representatives on our next steps and duties for the coming weeks and next 3 months.

The Game was played an hour away by bus against a team from the village of Mwembeshi. Just hours before kick-off we still had no bus to take us, the Director was held up in a meeting at the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and the two head coaches were nowhere to be seen!

The boys assured me that it’s the same every time the team plays an away game due to the lack of finances to pay for transportation, so I shouldn’t panic. “If no one comes, we don’t go”, they informed plainly.

It is also a common fact that most of the boys would not have eaten yet, since food is scare in their families, only lunch and supper are served and therefore means that if the team meets before lunchtime (as they do in order to be able to walk to the game if no transport money is available), they run on empty stomachs!

An hour and a half before kick-off I told the boys to stop a mini-bus and negotiate a price to take us and bring us back. Of course at the sight of the muzungu (foreign) coach, this was immediately upped by an extra 50,000 Kwacha (€ 10). Eventually we found a good-hearted soul who took us there and back for 250,000 Kwacha and the mini-bus exploded with football chants all along the way!

I bought them water and sugar to make glucose and some bread to fill the holes in their bellies, and the game kicked-off under a blistering sun at 15:30, in a patch of land in the middle of nowhere.The team performed modestly in a very uneventful first half against their elder, stronger opponents.

In the second half I made a couple of positional changes to Coach Tembo’s original set-up, deployed a stopper into last man, pulling a mid-fielder into the defence and urging the full-backs to assist the mid-field when attacking. We now played with a tight 5-3-2 formation when defending and fast 3-5-2 attacking formation when looking for goals.

The boys performed much better, looking for each other, playing short quick passes and filtering the ball into the empty spaces for the two fast front runners to hit the ball home. We had a couple of close misses but in the end the result rested at 0 – 0.

The boys performed much better, looking for each other, playing short quick passes and filtering the ball into the empty spaces for the two fast front runners to hit the ball home. We had a couple of close misses but in the end the result rested at 0 – 0.

Even though this was not my first match at the helm of the team, the boys responded well to my indications and the results showed in the way they passed the ball around the filed and supported each other when defending. I can only look forward to when I start my training programme this week to try and help the guys develop the tactical and positional play we tried during the game.

Form speaking to Coaches Tembo and Soldier (he is a sergeant in the Zambian army!), the main difficulty the coaches have had with the boys is in the disciplinary area. Not that they are disrespectful or undisciplined, but rather it is hard to get them to respond appropriately to their indications and directions. Some don’t take training seriously as they don’t see the “rewards” of such rigorous drills, others have their minds on their empty stomachs growling, the school work or house chores they have to face afterwards.

As the sun started to set in the west, raising a tamarind mist in the background, I stopped to reflect: These are a talented bunch and not withstanding the difficulties they face at home, the holes in their shoes and their stomachs, they train and play passionately.

My challenge is to earn their respect as a coach and trust as a friend so that together, we can build a strong unit that works well and plays diligently to achieve the results they deserve.