Copper Queens captain Barbra Banda, defenders Margaret Belemu, Martha Tembo and Lushomo Mweemba, along with midfielder Ireen Lungu, have joined the squad in Kampala ahead of Thursday’s 2028 Los Angeles Olympic qualification match against Uganda. The five are among eight…

Copper Queens captain Barbra Banda, defenders Margaret Belemu, Martha Tembo and Lushomo Mweemba, along with midfielder Ireen Lungu, have joined the squad in Kampala ahead of Thursday’s 2028 Los Angeles Olympic qualification match against Uganda.

The five are among eight foreign-based players called up by coach Charles Haalubono to join the 17 locally-based players for the back-to-back 2028 Los Angeles Olympic qualifiers.

US-based forward Racheal Kundananji, Prisca Chilufya and Mercy Chipasula are all expected to join the team by Tuesday.

The team will travel to Ndola for the second leg immediately after Thursday’s match.

Meanwhile, the Copper Queens on Monday evening held a recovery session at Mutesa II Stadium in Kampala as they continued preparations for their back-to-back qualifier against Uganda.

According to FAZ Media, the session was meant to help the players shake off fatigue from the long journey after arriving in Kampala earlier on Monday morning.

Coach Charles Haalubono, together with his full technical staff, put the 22 players currently in camp through the session.

Zambia will face Uganda on Thursday, 8th October 2026, at Hamz Nakivubo Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 hours Zambian time.

Zambia is seeking redemption after a disappointing 2026 WAFCON campaign as they face Uganda in the first leg of Round Two of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers in Kampala.