ZAMBIA
WithMwepuandDaka,Kawanu’s
hardworkwasjustified.Thepairof
themplayed majorrolesinsecuring
victory forZambiaattheUnder- 20
AFCONin 2017 onhomesoil.
Theultimatepieceinthe jigsaw was
theinfluenceofformerAfricanPlayer
ofthe YearFreddieKanoute.The
ex-WestHamUnited andTottenham
forwarddevelopedanagencycalled
12 Managementin 2015 , intendingto
bringmore AfricanplayerstoEurope.
Itwas in Kanoute’s quest to findtalent
thatledtohimmeetingwith Kawanu,
andthe pairbonded.
“Thingshavechangeda lotsince
I startedworkingwithhim.Heisa
bigpart of whatKafueCelticistoday,”
Kawanusays.“Fredhastakenusto
a wholenewlevel.Wewerebiginthe
nationinterms of player production,
butFredopenedusuptothe rest
ofthe world.”
KanouteworkswithKafueCeltic
asa consultant.Heprovidesaccess
tocoachingtrainingfromtheUK,and
hisagencyrepresentsbothMwepuand
Daka. Andwithhislinkstoclubsaround
theworld,Kanoute hashelpedfacilitate
moreopportunitiesfor Kafue.
Lastseason,theclubearned
promotiontothe Zambian Premier
Leaguewithasquadthathadan
averageageof 20 andwillbecome
theyoungestteaminthehistoryof
thecountry’stop flight.Kawanu’svision
ofdevelopingyouth hasmadeKafue
Celticoneofthemosttalked about
clubsinthe Zambia.
“That’sthereasonI joinedCeltic,
becauseitwasateamthatknewhow
togivenew opportunitiesandchances
toyoungplayerslikeme,” Mwepusays.
“Hegivesa lotofyoungpeoplea
chance,” Dakaagrees.“Hehelpsplayers
growbecausehehassomuchpatience
andabilitytobuildrelationshipswith
people.”
Kawanuadmits securingpromotion
wasa very“special”momentforthe
club.Especiallyona personallevel
consideringhehasbeentryingtoget
KafueCeltictothe SuperLeaguefor
almosttwodecades.But hisfuture
visiongoesbeyondambitionsfor
hisown club.
“Mybigdreamisforus to have
20 academieslike KafueCelticin
Zambia.Peoplesay if youhave
competition,it’simpossibleto
competebutthat’snottruebecause
wehaveenoughtalenttogoround.
Ifwehad 20 KafueCelticsdoing
whatwearedoing,all we woulddo
isopenupevenmore opportunities
andopenupZambiatotherest
ofthe world.”
PatsonDakaandEnockMwepu
havealreadyhelped putKafueon
themap.WithKawanu’sperseverance,
moremaysoonfollowtheirsuit. And
withBarcelonaopeninganacademy
innearby Lusaka,Kawanu’s future
visionmaynotbefarawayeither.
Return...Daka
returnedtodonate
KafueCeltic’skit
forlastseason
Adviser...former
PremierLeaguestriker
FredericKanoute