Chama questions Chipolopolo’s endless “building phase”

Simba SC midfielder Clatous Chama says there is no time to keep “building” at national team level, insisting Chipolopolo should already be producing results instead of repeatedly going back to the drawing board.

BolaNews Reporter Published May 22, 2026

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SAN-PEDRO, IVORY COAST - JANUARY 24: Clatous Chama of Zambia looks on during the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations group stage match between Zambia and Morocco at Stade de San Pedro on January 24, 2024 in San-Pedro, Ivory Coast. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Chipolopolo midfielder Clatous Chama has criticized the continued use of the phrase “building a team” when referring to the national team.

Chama, who plays for Tanzanian side Simba SC, says he does not understand the continued use of the phrase because the national team setup does not allow enough time to build a team.

“We are in a process where I don’t clearly understand when someone uses the word ‘building’. I wouldn’t understand it so much because we are talking about high-level football; it is a national team, so when you are building, are we trying to think [of it as] an academy or a club or something like that?”

Chama, who last played for Chipolopolo under Avram Grant, said, in the words of the Israeli coach, there is no time to build a team at the national team level.

“I think Coach Grant would tell you the system at the national team does not give you enough time for you to always go back to the drawing board and say we are building,” Chama said on ZNBC’s Sports Day show.

“Whenever we want to use the word, we are building; I don’t understand what that means. The national team has been there, and if we say in 2026 we are still building,” he said.