REPUBLICAN President Edgar Lungu has urged Zambians to attend all Under- 20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) matches being hosted in Zambia.
President Lungu who led thousands of soccer fans in cheering the Zambia Under-20 National team on Sunday when they played their Guinean counterparts in the opening fixture of the tournament expressed happiness over the win the Junior Chipolopolo recorded.
According to a statement released Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, the Head of State said the Junior Chipolopolo have started on a good note and he has since urged them to work extremely hard for the duration of the tournament.
Meanwhile Zambia clinched the first ticket from Africa to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017, after recording back-to-back victories in their opening two games at the CAF Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.
The continental tournament hosts, who saw off Guinea and Mali to book their place in the semi-final stage, end a ten-year absence from the global finals, having last attended Canada 2007.
Their journey to the Far East will be the Chipolopolo’s third trip to the U-20 World Cup, having debuted in 1999, with their last-16 appearance a decade ago their best performance to date.
They join 16 teams from Asia, Europe and South America who had already booked their place prior to the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations’ kick-off, with all four semi-finalists earning a place in Korea Republic. The other four places will be made up from participants at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which is also on-going.
The Official Draw for the U-20 World Cup will take place on 15 March.