By JOHN SAKALA
Space Football Club of Chingola’s Kasompe Township has won promotion to the super amateur league.
This was after enjoying a perfect flight to land into super amateur league.
Speaking at an end of season braii hosted for the players yesterday at the Space Pub and Grill, former Chipolopolo skipper Laughter Chilembi said football is a rewarding career.
Chilembi told the players to be disciplined if they want to excel in their football careers.
He said football had taken him to places and gave him a career.
“Let’s work hard while we have a sponsor so that we can be promoted to the next league next season. If you do well, other teams will have interest in your signature in order to play for them,” he said.
Gracing the event, Chingola Deputy Mayor Kennedy Simpasa applauded the Space for sponsoring the team.
Simpasa said big corporate entities are failing to plough back to the communities in which they operate.
“But the Space in its early days is working with government in both curbing youth unemployment and in promoting health living,” he said.
The Space working with Don Bosco College had five players trained in crafts trades at free of charge.
Four players were trained in metal fabrication while one was trained in electrical.
Space FC coach Friday Waimba said the aim is to take the team all the way into premier league.
Waimba said football is expensive but was grateful to club owner Andy Mpundu for sponsoring the team.
Mpundu (in blue T-shirt below) said the celebration was about the team’s promotion into super amateur league.
His desire is to be part of the solution to juvenile delinquency by keeping the youths active in football.
“Once we keep them active they will know that football is a career which can transform their lives. Let us guide them while can so that in future they can come and guide youths.
“We collaborated with Don Bosco Trade School to train these youths into artisan skills so that in case they fail to succeed in football, they can use the trade certificate to sustain them. We want all business houses to come on board so that we can motivate the youths together,” he said.
The Space top scorer Simon Seya said he as happy because the Space was not only sponsoring the team but also linking the players to Don Bosco to have a trade so that in case one is injured and fails to break into the team, they have the artisan trade to fall back on.
Kasompe Ward Councillor Johnston Kang’ombe was also in attendance.
