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Robson Sharuko Senior Sports Editor
IN the shadows of Lusaka’s Heroes Stadium lie the graves of the 30 men whose death, in a plane crash in 1993, inflicted considerable pain on their nation like nothing had ever done before.

Or, after, that tragedy.

They are an enduring reminder of the ultimate sacrifice — a people who died while on a mission to serve their country, with both distinction and courage, in the jungles of African football.

Eighteen of those who died were players, including Kelvin “Malaza” Mutale, then only 23, who had scored a hat trick for his country just a few days earlier in Mauritius, and was tipped for greatness.

The last time they had played a game before their fans, just a stone’s throw from where their remains lie today, was in an AFCON qualifier against the Warriors.

That was on April 10, 1993, and the match ended goalless.

Seventeen days later, the Zambian players were dead.

Killed off the coast of Gabon, after their chartered Buffalo military aircraft exploded, just after take-off in Libreville, where it had refuelled.

Twenty six years later, the Warriors are back in town, for their first AFCON qualifier duel against Chipolopolo in Zambia, since that tragedy.

Inevitably, the presence of the Warriors today, especially for a Nations Cup battle, evokes memories of the last time they were on a similar mission in 1993.

And, why this proud football nation should always strive, to honour the memories of those who perished in that line of duty to serve its interests, in this game, in that disaster.

Just like how the Class of 2012 somehow, against all odds, transformed Libreville — until then a city synonymous with Zambian disaster — into a grand cathedral of their greatest triumph, by winning the 2012 AFCON tournament.

Or, just like how Kalusha Bwalya, and his men came to Harare, just weeks after that disaster, and bullied their way to get the point they needed to qualify for the ‘94 AFCON finals.

Where, once in Tunisia, they made a mockery of their plight, and fought gallantly to go all the way to the final before their Cinderella tale was ended by Nigeria in a 1-2 defeat.

Fate, somehow, was always going to script something bizarre, ahead of the latest AFCON meeting between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As if to build a case for the hosts to try and rebound — as they have done in the past — from a difficult, and painful, situation. Tonight’s showdown in Lusaka comes just five days after Chipolopolo succumbed to one of their worst defeats in a Nations Cup match as they slumped to a 0-5 mauling in Algeria.

“We have to redeem and revive our qualification dream by beating Zimbabwe come Tuesday,” Chipolopolo coach Aggrey Chiyangi told the Zambian media.

After missing the last two Nations Cup finals, the Zambians know the cost of failure today in a group likely to be dominated by the Desert Foxes.

The other three teams — the Warriors, Chipolopolo and the Zebras — are set to battle in a shoot-out for the other place to go to Cameroon in 2021.

The Warriors also know the cost of failure today, after they turned on one of the worst performances in recent years, to settle for a goalless draw against Botswana in Harare on Friday night.

That poor show, and point, triggered a hostile reception from the fans who turned on caretaker coach, Joey Antipas.

A section of the supporters insulted the gaffer with some songs, whose derogatory lyrics cannot be published in a national family newspaper, like this one.

“We were way below standard (against Botswana),’’ said star forward Khama Billiat.

“We are going all out (against Zambia), we need the three points.’’

After a 2019 AFCON finals campaign, where the Warriors were a pale shadow of themselves, scoring only once and conceding six goals, including four at the hands of the DRC, their fans have been crying out for a response.

They have seen little, so far, to provide them with hope. A humiliating defeat to Somalia in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in Djibouti was a very low point, disaster only being averted when Billiat produced a moment of magic, in the dying moments of the reverse fixture in Harare, for a 3-1 win.

So, for both sides, Zambia and Zimbabwe, this is about redemption.

“We are also coming from a 0-0 draw at home, we are also licking some wounds,’’ Antipas told a media conference at Football House in Lusaka yesterday.

“We should have won that game (against Botswana), to be honest, we are hoping to come up with a good performance and result.’’

He said Chipolopolo’s 0-5 mauling at the hands of the Desert Foxes would not have any bearing in tonight’s battle.

“It counts for nothing, especially when Zambia plays Zimbabwe, it counts for absolutely zero,’’ said Antipas. “The quality they (Zambia) have, it’s never going to be easy.

“We all know the rivalry between the two countries, a friendly rivalry, we are brothers but, on the pitch, this game always produces fireworks.

“We are expecting fireworks from the Zambians and we have to be up for it.’’

Both teams badly need some heroes, to spark their campaign into life.

And, if they require an example of what a hero looks like in this game, they don’t need to look very far from where they will battle tonight.

For, in each of those graves scattered in the shadows of the Heroes Stadium lies a man, a father, a brother, a cousin, a grandfather — who died for the cause of their country.

And, if that can’t inspire them to give it their all, then nothing will ever do that.