Organising body | FAZ |
---|---|
Founded | 1962 |
Country | Zambia |
Confederation | CAF |
Number of teams | 18 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | National Division One |
Domestic cup(s) | ABSA Cup |
League cup(s) | Samuel Ndhlovu Charity Shield |
International cup(s) | |
Current champions | Red Arrows F.C. (2023–24) |
Most premierships | Nkana (13 titles) |
TV partners | SuperSport |
Current: 2023–24 Zambia Super League |
The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receive ZMW1,000,000 ($40000) and a copper trophy engraved with their team name.
The league is contested by 18 teams every season. Until 2018, it was scheduled to run within the calendar year from March to December. Since then, owing to the decision by CAF on 20 July 2017 to switch from their traditional across-year runtime/schedule of their club competitions to align with that of the UEFA/European calendar, [1] [2] it currently runs from August to May.
After each season and assuming Zambia is among the top 12 countries in the current CAF 5-year ranking system, the top 4 teams will qualify for CAF competitions; the top 2 qualify for the CAF Champions League and the two teams finishing below the top 2 positions on the league table qualifies for the CAF Confederation Cup. The teams who finish in the final 3 positions of the table are relegated to the National Division One league and replaced with the teams who finish in the top 3 positions of the National Division One league table.
The league's broadcaster since 2007 is South Africa-based SuperSport, which telecasts 126 of the current 306 matches each season, all outside Southern Africa. [3] [4] Seven matches were added to the telecast schedule since the 2022–23 season.
In 2018, FAZ struck a deal with the MTN Group of South Africa to sponsor the league being worth initially $4 million (ZMW 7,571,280) for 5 years [5] which has since been extended till date. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Via telecasting the league on SuperSport, the prize money given to each league team is ZMW300,000 ($ 15,848.52). The league runners-up receives ZMW 350,000 ($ 18,489.94) and the other 16 teams receive ZMW 200,000 ($ 10,565.68). [4] [3]
Position | Team | Prize Money (ZMW/K) | Telecast Prize | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ZESCO United | 500,000 | 300,000 | 800,000 |
2 | Green Eagles | 350,000 | 300,000 | 650,000 |
3 | Buildcon | 200,000 | 300,000 | 500,000 |
4 | Zanaco | 200,000 | 300,000 | 500,000 |
The previous league winners are as follows:
Club | Location | Titles |
---|---|---|
Nkana | Kitwe | 13 |
Mufulira Wanderers | Mufulira | 9 |
ZESCO United | Ndola | 9 |
Power Dynamos | Kitwe | 7 |
Zanaco | Lusaka | 7 |
Green Buffaloes | Lusaka | 6 |
Kabwe Warriors | Kabwe | 5 |
Red Arrows | Lusaka | 3 |
Nchanga Rangers | Chingola | 2 |
City of Lusaka | Lusaka | 1 |
Roan United | Luanshya | 1 |
Season | Goalscorer | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Rotson Kilambe | Zanaco | 17 |
Zachariah Simukonda | Red Arrows | ||
2003 | Francis Kombe | Power Dynamos | 18 |
John Lomani | Power Dynamos | ||
Musonda Mweuke | Kabwe Warriors | ||
2004 | Jimmy Mumba | Green Buffaloes | 15 |
2005 | Dube Phiri | Red Arrows | 28 |
2006 | Winston Kalengo | Zanaco | 28 |
2007 | Rainford Kalaba | Zesco United | 23 |
2008 | Rodgers Kola | Zanaco | 13 |
2016 | Walter Bwalya | Nkana | 24 |
2018 | Idris Mbombo | Nkana | 20 |
2019 | Laudit Mavugo | NAPSA Stars | 10 |
Austin Muwowo | Forest Rangers | ||
2019–20 | James Chamanga | Power Dynamos | 16 |
2020–21 | Moses Phiri | Green Buffaloes | 17 |
2021–22 | Ricky Banda | Red Arrows | 15 |
2022–23 | Andy Boyeli | Chambishi | 16 |
2023-24 | Freddy Michael | Green Eagles | 11 |
Power Dynamos is a Zambian professional football club based in Kitwe that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Arthur Davies Stadium in Kitwe.
Nkana FC is a football club based in Kitwe, Zambia. The football team competes in the MTN Super League, the top division of Zambian football. Nkana FC has won 13 League titles, making it Zambia's most successful league club, and second overall behind Mufulira Wanderers, with 52 trophies. They play their home games at Nkana Stadium in Wusakile, Kitwe.
Kabwe Warriors is a Zambian football club based in Kabwe that plays in the Zambian Premier League. They play their home games at Railway Stadium in Kabwe.
Kapambwe Mulenga (1963–1996) was a Zambian footballer who played as a defender.
Alexander "Alex" Chola was a Zambian footballer and coach. Voted Zambian Footballer of the Year in 1976, he is regarded as one of the greatest Zambian players in history and is the country's second highest goal scorer after Godfrey Chitalu. He made a mark at Mufulira Blackpool and Power Dynamos before becoming Dynamos coach and winning the Coach of the Year award in 1992. Chola died in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon on 27 April 1993.
Mufulira Wanderers are Zambia's most successful football club, based in the Copperbelt town of Mufulira, currently competing in the Zambia Super League for the 2023–24 season after their promotion from the Zambia National Division One.
Roan United is a Zambian football club based in Luanshya, in the Zambian Premier League and mostly successful during the early years of Zambian football. Indeed, they were the inaugural winners of the ZPL, clinching what was then called the Northern Rhodesia National Football League in 1962. They play their home matches at Kafubu Stadium.
Moses Simwala was a Zambian footballer and coach. Nicknamed 'the chairman,' Simwala featured for Zambia and Rhokana United as a right winger, the same club he would go on to coach for over 12 years and become the most successful coach in Zambian club football, winning the league title a record 8 times and 21 trophies in all. He was voted Zambian coach of the year in 1988 and 1989.
The 2013 COSAFA Cup, sponsored by South African Breweries and officially named the 2013 COSAFA Castle Cup, was the 14th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA). It was hosted by Zambia in July 2013.
Fighton Simukonda was a Zambian coach and former footballer. A defender, was part of the Nkana Red Devils side of the 1980s, winning five league titles, and he also captained Zambia. As a coach, he won several Zambian Premier League titles and became the first coach to lead a Zambian club to the group phase of the CAF Champions' League.
George Lwandamina is a former Zambian footballer and head coach of Kabwe Warriors.He had a brief playing career with Zambia and won several trophies as a defender with Mufulira Wanderers.
The 2016 Zambia Super League is the 55th season of the Zambian Top League. The season began on 12 March 2016. ZESCO United are the defending champions, coming off their second consecutive title and fifth overall, all in the last nine years.
The 2019 Zambia Super League is the 58th season of the Zambia Super League, the top-tier football league in Zambia. Due to the transitional calendar of the CAF competitions in 2018–19, the 20 teams in the league will be divided into two groups of ten teams stream A and stream B, one of teams from the north and one of teams from the south, Nkana leading one and Zesco United heading the other. The teams top two with the most points will qualify for the CAF Champions League then the other two will play the CAF Confederations Cup. The League will return to normal for the 2019–20 season. The league is set to kick off on 27 January, A day after the Charity Shield.
The 2019-20 Zambia Super League is the 59th season of the Zambia Super League, the top-tier football league in Zambia. This is the first Super League season that has a new format which conforms with the CAF calendar. The league kicked off on 31 August. Zesco United are the defending champions and KYSA and Kansashi Dynamos are the newly promoted sides into the super league.
The Zambian Charity Shield officially called Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu Charity Shield since 2003 is a season opener match between the champions of the previous Super League season and the holders of the ABSA Cup. If the Super League champions also won the ABSA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition. The fixture was first played in the 1967 season. The current holders are Zesco United, who defeated Lusaka Dynamos 4-0 in the 2021 match.
Joel Kangala Bwalya is a Zambian football coach and former player who has been the manager of Kafue Celtic since August 2021.
The FAZ Women Super Division is the highest league of women's football in Zambia. It was established in the beginning of 2021 and is run by FAZ. The inaugural season featured 12 teams from four provinces in Zambia. The super division replaced the 4 regional women's leagues as the highest level of women's football in Zambia, while the regional leagues dropped to the second tier. In November 2022 a new nationalwide division one was created, serving as the second tier and dropping the regional leagues to the third tier.
The 2022–23 Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the 62nd season of the top-tier association football league in Zambia which began on 20 August 2022. Red Arrows are the defending champions.
According to records from the RSSSF, there were many association football cup competitions organized in Zambia since 1962, some of which are the Independence Cup, the Zambian Challenge Cup, the Champion of Champions Cup and Zambian Coca-Cola Cup, the latter which began in 2001. These competitions are either inactive or were played no more as of 2009.
It was agreed by the Committee to maintain the current format, but to proceed in the future to a change in timing for inter-club competitions which are expected to start from August to May.
The latest upgrade to the deal is the second renewal between SuperSport and the FAZ, with the initial contract commencing in 2007 and being renewed for a further five years in 2010.