The New Chipolopolo Kit!

Am I the only one who seems to be having a problem appreciating with the new set of jerseys for our beloved national soccer? Before I proceed to express my specific concerns about the new kit, I would like to refer to an article I wrote some weeks back in which I questioned African teams’ ability to brand themselves. I further questioned why big teams on the African continent still wear European club replica kits which my view is a sign of lack of originality.  

 In that article I also praised the Football Association Zambia (FAZ) for finally settling for a set of kits that truly represented our national colors before and at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Many will agree with me that the set of kit worn by the Chipolopolo at the 2012 Equatorial Guinea/ Gabon Africa Cup of Nations were not only colorful but unique to the extent that one needed not look at the outfit twice to know that it was a Zambian jersey.  This is the jersey that has been heavily counterfeited to an extent that even this author only realized after a long time that the words of the Football Association of Zambia emblem read “Football Assoclation of Zambia” and not otherwise.   

Having said that, am sure all readers and soccer fans will agree with me that it is the green with stripes of red, black and orange plus either black or green shorts  that we have become comfortable with . Additionally, away games would see Zambia don orange tops with green shorts and orange stockings. When the Football Association of Zambia announced that our beloved chipolopolo dressed by Nike would have a new kit, I was so expectant and for several weeks, I envisioned how the kit looked like as I was sure nothing could beat the creativity of our dressers. During the wait, I was so sure that the new kit will maintain the same design with some slight changes to enhance its appeal.  

It was presented to the nation and for a moment I thought it was a hoax!! For a moment, I thought to myself FAZ was undertaking a mission to ‘rebrand’ the team like political party. For a moment it appeared to me like FAZ was on some sort of a mission to rid itself of the past and needed to be seen I a different light all together.  When a friend of mine came with the replica jersey of the new kit and asked for my opinion, I told him that I would rather stick to the old replica kit because it identified with me and my pride as a Zambian. That is the kind of kit that needs no introduction at any major or international airport around Africa. Sadly it appears to have been consigned to the archives.   

The question I have always had since FAZ ‘rebranded’ the team is if the really reflected on the importance of branding for the national team.  In my considered view, the new kit is a ‘miss’, am not trying to grandstand on this matter but am sure several people out there share this point of view. If you go anywhere in the world class team has attempted to position themselves to ensure that they retain a distinctive and durable perception in the minds of the fans. Brazil, France, England, Germany, Cameron, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Tanzania and even countries like Uganda are teams that have for a longtime have branded their kit wit national colors  intertwined with uniqueness and originality.  That set of kit that appears to have been shelved will probably go down in our history as a nation as the most worn replica jersey both locally and internationally because it has a legacy of success, a legacy of Champions. 

That is the kit that has won recognition, loyalty, image, reliability and quality around the world! Brand experts will agree with me that a strong brand projects an image of quality and loyalty. Why has FAZ opted to throw all that power and rich legacy to the wind? If one takes a look at teams that made it to the 2013 African Cup of Nations, they still maintained their kit and if they did alter it, the alterations where minor. This can been seen in teams like Burkina Faso, Mali, Angola, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Ghana who wore improved kits of the ‘original kits’ and at one glance, one would easily identify them. This was not the case with Zambia; they wore completely different oversized looking kits that lacked originality, image and recognition!

In the light of this I would like to urge the Football Association of Zambia to swallow their pride and give us a jersey that is truly representative of our national colors and Pride. The kits that were worn at the 2013 South Africa  Afcon should be relegated to the Under 23s,20 and 17 while the  2012 legacy Jerseys to be improved upon without tampering with our national colors. For a Pan-Africanist like me, national colors at too important! With that said, you can now ask me if I have bought the new replica.  

Of Wizardry and Superstitious: Have We Stopped Caring For Our Senior Citizens?

I have noted with dismay at the rate our aged or should I call them senior citizens are being abused and in certain instances killed on suspicion that they are wizards or witches. Most of these aged are dying at the hands of some heartless and merciless young members, who in every sense of the word are supposed to protect them. Where are we headed as a society if the safety of these defenseless cannot be guaranteed? Where are our values of respect for human life? 

Where are our values of respecting people who are older than you? Why young people sunken have so low that they can without compassion or feeling of pity literally abduct an old man and subject them to beatings and even burn them to death? Is this the society we want to create and leave to future generations? It hard to comprehend that such heinous acts are going unabated in our society. For how long are we going to seat back and what poor old defenseless senior citizens die at the hands of ill mannered and blood thirsty misfits our societies?

   

My Tuesday evening was spoiled when I saw a moving and touch scene on MUVI TV news of a group of young men and women torturing and beating a defenseless and tired looking old man in Ndola. It is believed that the man is a wizard who was found roaming the streets naked. This was the basis on which the suspected that the man was a wizard and they pounced on him and were ready to burn him alive had it not be for the quick intervention of the police. 

Thank God! It later turned out that this poor old man has had a history of mental problems. And yet the assailants where by any means ready to shed his innocent blood? Anyone who saw that television clip will agree with me that that frail old man could not even hurt a fly and the only sin he had committed was having a mental illness that had affected his ability to not only reason with himself but with society aw sell. It can be recalled that another old woman in Kitwe’s Chamboli Township was brutally beaten by some people who accused her of being a witch. She later died as a result of the severe beating she suffered at the hands of her assailants.    These are just peculiar or isolated cases but a recurrent trend that appear to be taking route in our society and in my considered view send a strong message that the aged and mentally sick people are not safe anymore.

This trend is highly disturbing and also goes to show the high levels of superstition in our society despite it being a Christian Nation. It is clear that older persons are being discriminated against at various levels in our society that include family, community, and even institutional level. In work environments, there are instances where older employees are usually accused being wizards on account that they do not want to leave employment and give way to the young ones and they consequently are a subject of all sorts of ridicule. On the other hand, at family and community, the old usually are left isolated and will be occasionally be visited. It is worse if they are living in an environment riddled with poverty. They end up on the streets and eventually are become victims of all sorts of scorn and accusations.

     

Zambia is a signatory to various international conventions and accords that seek protect old persons aged and the mentally challenged. The reason why Zambia scribes to such international conventions is because older persons have specific needs and requirements.  One of the fundamental truths we have to face as a country is that life expectancy in Zambia has increased in addition; the population of the country is relatively youthful so at some point in future, Zambia may experience unprecedented demographic aging. The question now is would we be happy to be discriminated against based on our age? Would the future generations be justified to accuse of being wizards and witches just because our old and frail bodies? 

It is high time our society started respecting the aged and on the other hand the law enforcement agencies clamped down on violence against the aged. It is clear that our society needs a lot of education in this area. We need to encourage a paradigm change of attitudes at all levels in the way our aged are viewed. After all, they are a source of wisdom! We also need to remember that the aged were once like us the young and soon we shall be like them so let us create a society devoid of discrimination against the aged and mentally challenged!