Which country’s football team died in a plane crash?
Within minutes of flying off from Libreville, Gabon, on the evening of April 27, 1993, a Zambian Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo cargo plane went down in the ocean. The majority of the Zambian national football squad was on board the trip to Dakar for a qualifier for the 1994 FIFA World Cup versus Senegal. Five members of the crew and all 25 passengers perished. For this reason, let’s take a look at Which country’s football team died in a plane crash?
Which country’s football team died in a plane crash?
The Football Association of Zambia oversees the Zambia national football team, which competes in men’s international association football on behalf of Zambia (FAZ). In honour of its founder president Dr Kenneth Kaunda (“KK”), who ruled Zambia from 1964 to 1991, they were referred to as the KK 11 throughout the 1980s. After the nation introduced multiparty politics, the group earned the moniker “Copper Bullets,” or Chipolopolo.
The Zambian national team, the Chipolopolo, had a lot of potentials. At the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, they defeated Italy 4-0 thanks in large part to a hat-trick by Kalusha Bwalya, who later that year earned the African Footballer of the Year award. After placing third in the 1990 competition, they had their sights set on the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations crown and a spot in their first World Cup.
Throughout the 2000s, there was a push to make the Gabonese accident inquiry public. The Gabonese government published a preliminary accident investigation report in November 2003, and it said that the left engine had taken fire; however, the pilot simply switched down the right engine because of a malfunctioning light while trying to put out the fire.
Despite this, the families of the deceased continue to press the Zambian government to issue a report on how the aircraft was permitted to depart Zambia and why the players were flown on a military plane. Families of the slain players then received $4 million in compensation in May 2002.
In the collision, all thirty passengers perished. Only 13 of the 24 bodies that were found could be properly identified.
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