Martin Kayuwa, once a highly-rated Zambian striker, has retired from football at age 29, leaving behind a trail of unfulfilled potential due to a series of unrelenting injuries.

Kayuwa’s brief career, which has seen him play for Power Dynamos, Kabwe Warriors, and Mutondo Stars has been littered with injuries; these include serious groins and a dislocated left ankle.

He has failed to fully recover, forcing him to call it quits and focus on pursuing a career in mechanics.

Kayuwa, nicknamed Demba after former Senegalese and Chelsea star Demba Ba, is a Super League side Power Dynamos academy graduate. In 2016, he was promoted to the main team after an impressive season with the reserves, where he scored 15 goals.

He was poised to be the next big thing on the local scene, with his then-academy coaches, Ken Muma and Mwenya Chipepo, likening him to Ba.

“Martin had qualities of a good striker,” Chipepo, who is now coach for Super League side Nkana said. “But he got unlucky with injuries, had he gone on to play for long, he would have been a top player no doubt.”

In an exclusive interview, Kayuwa told SportsBoom he has been forced to focus on building a career outside football because injuries have prevented him from enjoying the game anymore.

“My injury problems started the very year I was promoted to the senior team…from then I have been having multiple serious injuries, I was never fit for a long time and this was frustrating, it was from these frustrations that I have decided quit football,” Kayuwa said.

Kayuwa Bemoans Unfulfilled Dreams

Despite having played in the Zambian top flight, Kayuwa feels he has left the stage with a lot of unfulfilled dreams. Like many players, his ultimate goal was to play in Europe and don the Chipolopolo shirt.

With regret on his face, he says the feeling of having never achieved this part of his dream still haunts him today.

“I had a lot of aspirations that I wanted to achieve in football, I wanted to play for the national team, playing in Europe particularly in the Premier League. I can say I never achieved what I wanted in football.

“Playing for Power Dynamos was one of the goals I wanted to achieve, but it was not the ultimate goal. I was aspiring to be one of the best strikers in the country but I never did so I can say I never achieved anything in my football career,” he said.

Unlike many footballers who face financial hardship after retiring from the sport, Kayuwa has found a new lease on life. He is now working as an artisan mechanic in one of the factories in Zambia.

During his playing days, Kayuwa balanced football and education, earning a certificate in mechanical fitting from the Northern Technical College (NORTEC), one of Zambia’s largest trade schools. 

He has not closed the door to football; he hopes one day he can work as an ambassador for one of his former clubs.