By GWEN CHIPASULA –
THE Zambia futsal team yesterday got a morale booster when top scorer Kenneth Chulu and captain Arnold Chishala joined the squad ahead of the 2016 Africa Cup of Nations preliminary round return leg against Equatorial Guinea.
Futsal is a modified form of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller, typically indoor, pitch.
Zambia carries a 3-2 lead heading into Sunday’s clash that will see the winner of this two-legged qualifier seal a spot at the finals to be held in South Africa.
South Africa, who qualified by virtue of being the hosts, are joined by Egypt.
The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the FIFA 2016 Futsal World Cup to be held in Colombia as the CAF representatives.
Chulu, who has scored 19 goals from his 14 appearances at the Futsal Grand Prix, and Chishala joined the team yesterday after recovering from a groin and knee injury, respectively.
Chishala said in an interview at the Olympic Youth Development Centre after a training session that the team was determined to qualify for the finals by beating Equatorial Guinea.
He said the team lost concentration in the first leg last Sunday but that all that had been worked on to ensure victory was achieved.
Coach Augusto Lucio was happy that Chishala and Chulu had joined the team, and that they looked sharp, ready for the match.
