Team Zambia’s ANOCA School Games Chef de Mission Zulu describes the games as a good experience for Zambian athletes

Mwape Zulu, the Chef de Mission for Team Zambia at the 2025 Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) School Games hosted by Algeria from 26 July to 5 August, says young Zambian athletes who represented the nation at the games had a good exposure to international competition, which will help them perform better in future.

Zulu who serves as the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) Board Member notes that despite the nation sending eight athletes in two sports codes judo and tennis at the first edition of the ANOCA School Games where a bronze medal was won by judoka Sasha Kapumpa, their dedication and passion to come back home with more medals should be applauded.

Judoka Sasha Kapumpa displaying her bronze medal won at the 2025 ANOCA School Games.

She says that as the nation will be looking forward to 2027 when the second edition of the games will be hosted by Nigeria, the NOCZ is hopeful that it will collaborate with more stakeholders so that the nation can send more athletes in various sports codes to stand a good chance of bringing more medals.

Zulu adds that the games attracted 52 African nations targeting athletes between the ages of 14 and 18 years coming together and providing nations an opportunity to:  Facilitate the identification and preparation of the next generation of athletes for the forthcoming African Youth Games and Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, Promote the diversity of sports disciplines and open up opportunities to new talent and Foster the integration of educational and civic values through sport, in line with the vision of ANOCA and the IOC.

Team Zambia pose for a photo upon arrival back home from the 2025 ANOCA School Games.

Meanwhile, bronze medalist in judo Sasha Kapumpa says the games were a good experience and tough, adding that she never expected to win a medal but managed to come back home with bronze.

She says her next mission is to train hard for upcoming games so that her name will be written in the history books of winning a gold medal for Zambia at such similar prestigious competitions.

Her coach, William Kalunga, says the focus will now be to strategise for other upcoming games now that his judokas have been exposed to international competition, stating that his athletes have the potential to win more medals, looking at how they exemplarily performed on the tatami.

Team Zambia arrived back home on Thursday, 7 August, aboard Ethiopian Airlines and were welcomed by representatives from judo, tennis, NOCZ and OYDC Zambia.