By JOHN SAKALA
Management at Djurgåden IF of Sweden is happy with 2017 Under 20 Africa Cup winner, Edward ‘Tiger’ Chilufya’s performance at the club and is confident that he will soon establish himself as a regular player in the Zambia national senior team.
Djurgården IF Sports Director, Bo Andersson told Zambia’s Ambassador to Sweden, Rose Salukatula on Monday that Chilufya has been able to quickly establish himself as a dependable player for the club.
Ms Salukatula led staff from the embassy to show solidarity with Chilufya and his club when Djurgåden IF played Helsingborgs IF in the Swedish top league, the Allsvenskan.
Djurgården beat their opponents, 2 – 0 Helsingborgs IF in a nail-biting encounter to take the top slot of the table with about four games remaining to the end of the season. Djurgåden IF are tied at 50 points each with second placed AIK after 23 games played this season.
Speaking before the game, Andersson pointed out that the current team was “very competitive” but Chilufya has still managed to get a lot of opportunities during which he has displayed his skill and impressed since joining the club in 2017.
Ms Salukatula thanked Djurgården IF for recruiting Chilufya noting that this was a show of confidence that Sweden, and the club in particular, had in Zambian talent.
The Ambassador later on led embassy officials and some Zambians at the game which was played at Djurgården’s home ground, Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, in singing the ‘happy birthday’ song for Chilufya and making a presentation of assorted fruits to him. Chilufya turned 20 on September 17.
A product of the Mpande Academy in Zambia, Chilufya started training with Djurgården in June 2017.
He signed his first professional contract with Djurgården on February 15, 2018.
Chilufya made his professional debut for Djurgårdens in a 1-0 Svenska Cupen (The Swedish Cup) win over BK Häken on March 12, 2018.
He made his league debut in Allsvenskan in a 1-3 win over IFK Göteborg on May 24, 2018.
He represented the Zambia national team at the 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations. He helped Zambia win the tournament, scoring in the final against Senegal in a 2-0 win on March 12, 2017.
Chilufya ended with 4 goals, and was joint top scorer for the tournament. Chilufya also represented Zambia at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and helped his team make it into the quarterfinals of the competition.
This is according to media statement made available to The Independent Observer by Nicky Shabolyo, the Counsellor at the Zambian Embassy in Sweden.
