Former Copper Queens coach Bruce Mwape has died at 67 in his hometown of Chingola.
Mwape died in the early hours of today at the Nchanga South Mine Hospital. According to family sources, Mwape suffered a suspected stroke on Tuesday last week and was later hospitalised, leading to his eventual death.
Mwape, a former defender at Roan United and Nchanga Rangers during his playing time, took charge of the Zambia national women’s team in 2018.
He qualified the team for three WAFCON tournaments: 2018, 2022, and 2024 (played in 2025). His biggest mark on the African continent came when Zambia beat Cameroon to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He would go on to guide the side to an historic third-place finish at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco. As a result, Zambia qualified for their maiden appearance at the senior FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand.
He became the first Zambian coach to guide any national team at the global showpiece. The team was eliminated in the group stages with matches against Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica. They lost their opening matches to Japan and Spain before securing their first win at the global stage in the 3-1 win over Costa Rica.
Mwape leaves behind a legacy of two Olympic Games qualifications, a FIFA World Cup qualification and a bronze medal at the WAFCON.
He also served as Nchanga Rangers FC head coach on several occasions.
Meanwhile, Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Keith Mweemba has described Mwape’s death as a great loss to the Zambian football family.
“The death of Coach Mwape is a huge shock to the football family and the nation as a whole. We extend our deepest condolences to the family and can only wish them God’s strength at this hour,” said Mweemba in a statement.
“Everyone recognises Coach Mwape’s contribution to our game, especially his reign as Copper Queens coach, where he took the team to unimaginable heights. He took the Copper Queens to back-to-back Olympics (Tokyo 2020 & Paris 2024), WAFCON bronze in 2022 and the first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in Australia/New Zealand.”
“It is a day of great loss, but Mwape leaves a great legacy.”
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