A 19-year-old Zambian defender relocated to Southeastern Europe in Turkey on his own from Kanyama township in Lusaka in order to pursue a professional football career.
Joseph Mulenga, born to a single mother in a family of five, started playing football in Kanyama and was a member of the Olympic Youth Development Center (OYDC) amateur team. However, after dropping out of school in the eighth grade due to financial difficulties, he decided to look for a job and was eventually hired as a general worker at a named manufacturing industry in Kanyama township.
He continued playing football at the Fountain of Hope Orphanage football club, where he spent most of his time as a teenager after knocking off from his night job in Kanyama.
“I dropped out of school in grade 8 because of financial challenges, so I started working as a gateman at a manufacturing industry in Kanyama,” he said. “It was a challenging time for me and my family as my mother was just selling second-hand clothes in Lusaka, which was not enough for us.”
A friend he subsequently made on Facebook who teaches English in Turkey informed him that there were many opportunities for footballers there and asked him to give it a shot by relocating.
He narrates that he started saving money for two years to pay for his visa to Turkey until last year in May, when he finally traveled despite his mother being skeptical about his decision.
“My mother was skeptical about me coming here but I managed to convince her because it has always been my dream to play football in Europe,” said Mulenga. “When I arrived here, the same friend I met on Facebook, who does not want to be known, accommodated me, but life was not easy here. He later introduced me to the English culture school where I was hired to teach English language. After that, I managed to find an apartment and stay on my own and started playing street football.”
Mulenga tells Bolanews that after 7 months of working as an English language teacher for six-year-olds in Turkey, he discovered an agency that assisted him in finding a football club.
“I used to play street football because my mission was to find a football club, I then saw an opportunity at a Turkish football agency on Instagram that was looking for players. I contacted them, and they said, ‘We need to watch you before we can sign you,’ and that’s how I ended up where I am today.”
The agency, Kutay Futbolcu Menajerligi, was impressed by the Zambian after inviting him for trials and later secured a club for him.
Mulenga joined Eser Spor Kulubu in the Turkish amateur league, where he has earned himself the nickname “Zambian Ramos” after Spanish defender Sergio Ramos, whom he idolizes.
He has also revealed that his management is currently in talks with a number of clubs in the Turkish First League about a possible move this January.
Mulenga said his dream is to play for top European clubs and also represent the Zambia national team.
