George Chilufya has made it clear his main aim with the Zambia Under 17 team is to produce young players that will follow in the footsteps of the likes of Patson Daka, Fashion Sakala and Enock Mwepu who are riding high in Europe.
Zambia’s knack of producing young talent is most evident in the Under 20 class of 2016 which carved out players that include Daka, Mwepu, Sakala, Edward Chilufya and Emmanuel Banda among others.
The trio of Daka, Mwepu and Sakala have gone to become key players in the current Chipolopolo senior national team under Milutin Sredojevic.
And the current Under 17 gaffer, Chilufya is relishing an opportunity to unearth another group of fine players for the Zambian senior national team.
He is hoping that the 2021 Under 17 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged in Morocco from 13 to 31 March, will act as a confidence booster to his budding stars.
“This is an opportunity to set the tone for our future. The team did well at COSAFA but this time we face a different task altogether and we want glory but we are cautious.
“However, what is important at this stage is to boost the confidence of our young players and mould them for the future,” he said.
Chilufya named a 41-member provisional squad for the AFCON finals where he retained the bulk of players who helped Zambia earn a place at this tournament following a successful 2020 COSAFA Men’s Under 17 Championship, which was a zonal qualifier for the continental showpiece.
