Hichani Himoonde, a former Chipolopolo Boys defender and 2012 AfCON winner, has called on the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to quickly settle on a permanent coach for the Chipolopolo coaching role.

In an interview, Himoonde believes appointing the coach before the start of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will give the coach ample time to work out his philosophy.

“We currently have an experienced coach as our interim head coach, but we are not certain if he will be the one to guide the team in the qualifiers starting in September. As part of preparations for the AfCON qualifiers, I think FAZ should identify a permanent coach based on the objectives for the tournament and beyond the tournament,” he said.

“I think the appointment will be in line with what the technical committee at FAZ wants and the kind of philosophy they want to implement.”

According to Himoonde, Zambia has the players, adding that most of them are below 30.

He also welcomed the inclusion of new players into the squad.

“What is comforting about the current team is the age; most of them are just below the age of 30. I’m also happy to see players born in Europe accepting to play for the nation; it shows the respect they have for the badge,” he noted.

“However, the challenge now goes to them. The chance to create history for the nation is always in front of them—good performance at a major tournament,” concluded.

Draws for the 2027 AfCON finals are set 19 May 2026.