The Football Association of Zambia have appointed Sven Vandenbroeck as the national team manager following the end of Beston Chambeshi’s stint as interim manager.
The Belgian had previously been the assistant manager of Cameroon under the tutelage of Hugo Broos as the Indomitable Lions won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017.
While Vandenbrouck has a wealth of experience as an assistant manager, he has only had one full managerial job which was with Niki Volou in the Greek football pyramid, although that stint only lasted for a season.
Zambia are looking to rebuild on their success of the early 2010s in which they won the Africa Cup of Nations under current Morocco coach Herve Renard, as since his departure for Ivory Coast they have failed to secure a long term manager.
Vandenbroeck could have a talented crop of players to work with in his first international job, as Zambia’s youth teams have shown promise in youth tournaments such as the 2017 U20 World Cup in which they reached the quarter finals before losing to Italy, having beaten traditional powerhouses such as Germany and Portugal in the process.
Vandenbroeck’s first game as manager will be against Namibia in an Africa Cup of Nations, as Chipolopolo have their work cut out having surprisingly lost their opener to Mozambique.