Africa-Press – Zambia. Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Andrew Kamanga led a low-key commemoration of the 29th Gabon Memorial Anniversary at Heroes Acre this morning.
Meanwhile Director of Sports John Zulu also joined the commemoration that also had family members, ex-footballers and football fans marking the anniversary with a get-together
Kamanga was joined by secretariat staff comprising Deputy General Secretary Joseph Chimpampwe and Technical Director Lyson Zulu. “We cannot over-emphasize the role the heroes played, they sacrificed a lot, and they paid the ultimate price with their lives on national duty,” Kamanga said.
“Next year is going to be a big celebration, we hope we can organize some international game around the event.” The FAZ chief says next year would be special marking 30 years since the heroes fell and AFCON qualification will be a befitting memory.
“It will be a befitting gift to the fallen heroes if we can remember them with victory in 2023 but first, we need to qualify then we can think about how far we can go in the tournament. 2023 Africa Cup will be a special moment because it will be 30 years since the heroes died,” he said.
And Zulu said despite the official function coming up next year, government still retained interest in the annual commemoration. Zulu said everyone needed to draw positives from the example of the fallen heroes.
He said that the nation needed to preserve their memories through sports academies and other facilities that could immortalize their memory. Family representative Tamara Mtonga who is also chairperson of the Gabon Families Foundation said that the event was now a celebration.
Eighteen players, technical staff, a FAZ president, crew and some government officials died on April 28, 1993, when a Zambia Air Force plane ferrying them to Dakar for USA 1994 World Cup qualifier crashed off the coast of Gabon.
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