“At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen.” These timeless words from Isaiah 60:22 resonate deeply with the story of 25-year-old Lumwana Radiants goalkeeper William Mtonga.
For nearly a decade, Mtonga has been moving from club to club in an effort to secure first-team football. As you might know, breaking into the starting eleven as a goalkeeper is not an easy feat.
It now seems that fate has finally worked in his favour, judging by his performances in the last seven games for Lumwana Radiants. Since being given a chance, Mtonga has kept five clean sheets and is part of a Lumwana side that is on a seven-match unbeaten run.
Although he has been around for a long time, many people first took notice of Mtonga when he received praise from his coach, Bilton Musonda, after a man-of-the-match performance in the 1-0 win over Green Eagles at the dreaded Independence Stadium in Choma on January 12.
In that game, his razor-sharp reflexes led to several crucial saves, including denying Amity Shamende from the penalty spot. His overall performance earned him applause even from the home fans, with many wondering, “Where has this kid been all this while?”
Mtonga narrates difficult football journey
Let’s wind back the clock a bit.
After playing on dusty pitches like many of us, Mtonga’s first experience with organized football came in 2011 when he joined Kitwe’s Rops Academy, a nursery owned by former Chipolopolo midfielder Zeddy Saileti.
In 2014, he caught the eye of Mwenya Chipepo, who was then the coach at Young Power Dynamos. However, Mtonga’s stay at Arthur Davies Stadium was brief, as he was soon scouted by Red Arrows, then coached by Oswald Mutapa.
Despite his potential, Mtonga, a native of Kitwe, struggled to settle in the capital city. After training with Arrows for a year, he decided to return to Kitwe.
“You know when you are young, then you leave your home town it is never easy,” he told Bolanews exclusively. “I had a lot of challenges so in 2016 I got back to Kitwe.”
Nkana stint benefited Mtongo
Upon his return to Kitwe, Mtonga was persuaded by Young Nkana coach Fidelis Chungu to join Kalampa’s feeder team. His impressive performances at Young Nkana caught the attention of Aggrey Chiyangi, who then promoted him to the main team.
While the promotion to the main team was exciting, there was no way Mtonga could rival the likes of Moses Mapulanga, Kelvin Malunga, and Frederick Mwansa for a starting place at Nkana Stadium.
His spell with the main team from 2017 to 2021 did not yield much in terms of first-team action. It was not surprising that he was loaned out to Kalulushi Modern Stars before eventually severing ties with the record title holders.
“It was not easy to break into the Nkana team then; the team had a lot of experienced goalkeepers. We had Moses Mapulanga, Scott Ngokene, and Frederick Mwansa. Later we had Allan Chibwe, Kelvin Malunga, Telbet Shumba and many others, so it was not easy for me to break into the team,” he recalls.
However, Mtonga says he benefitted greatly from working with some of the top goalkeepers at Nkana. It is that experience that has helped shape him into a better goalkeeper.
It was not easy at FC MUZA- Mtonga
In 2022, his search for first-team football led him to Lusaka Dynamos. However, after Dynamos was demoted, he joined FC MUZA the following season. There, he faced competition from the experienced Congolese keeper, Monga Ndala.
“I never stayed [long] at MUZA,” he recalls. “I stayed there for six months. It was not easy for me there. After MUZA, I stayed for another six months before finding a team.”
After the MUZA episode, Mtonga began to entertain the idea that perhaps football was not for him and that it might be time to explore other opportunities in life.
“My football journey stopped a bit; I stayed without playing football for like six months… I started doing other things because being a man is not easy; you have to survive,” he said.
FC MUZA coach Lameck Banda’s impact
Mtonga is grateful to Lameck Banda, who gave him a lifeline in 2023 when the former left MUZA to join Lumwana.
“When coach Lemeck left MUZA, he contacted me to ask about my whereabouts. I was like, ‘There is nothing that I am doing at the moment.’ That is when he asked me to join Lumwana and that is how I got myself here,” he said.
Following Banda’s departure, Mtonga had the task of impressing Musonda.
“The life of a goalkeeper is tough; you need to keep pushing even when you are not getting game time because only one person can play at a time. So for me, my philosophy is to work hard and support whoever is ahead of me,” he said.
Fast forward to the present; in Mtonga’s first game this season against Mutondo Stars, he kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. Since then, he has never looked back.
“My journey has not been easy; if I remember very well, I reached a point of giving up on football but there were people around me who pushed me to work hard and keep believing in God. I thank God for everything that is happening in my career,” Mtonga says.
