Emmanuel continues Mpongo legacy at CAF African Football Schools Championship
Mpongo - a household name in Zambia. Etched in the history of Zambian Football folklore, the Mpongos have preserved their name for decades. From father to daughter and now to son.
Fanwell Mpongo. Charity Mpongo. Emmanuel Mpongo.
This comes with the weight of expectations as well as a newfound opportunity to showcase a family legacy so rich that it was always going to be a matter of time before Emmanuel steps up to the forefront. His eyes light up when he touches his chest to display the deep affection he has for his country. Zambia ku chalo.
Tall, towering and yet youthful in his bounce, Emmanuel wears the Zambia armband like he was born for this moment. He leads his teammates onto the pitch at the CAF African Schools Football Championship like he has been counting down to this particular moment since birth.
Well, who would not be over the moon when representing their nation as early in life as a teenager? Perhaps, it comes from the fact that the Chipolopolo were crowned TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2012 champions in Libreville, Gabon exactly 117 days after his birth. And that as a toddler, the football gods demanded that he take up this responsibility to carry the baton in the pursuit of Zambian glory on the continent.
“My inspiration to play football comes from my dad [Fanwell Mpongo] who played for over 25 years as well as my sister [Charity Mpongo] who has also played for the national team. Every time I go for training or games, they tell me that I will be the pillar of the family and that I should continue training and look where I am here now. It is by the grace of God,” Emmanuel says with an ear-to-ear smile.
A student at Chelstone Secondary School, approximately 15km from the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka where Zambian national sides have registered history over the years, Emmanuel aims to write his own chapter at the same venue and beyond.
With inspiration from current Chipolopolo poster boy and Leicester City striker Patson Daka who in March 2017 led Zambia to the AFCON U20 title at home in front of home fans, Emmanuel has a sea of stars to look up to. He chooses Daka for the consistency, tenacity and hard work from a young age.
Stopilla Sunzu, who played the same exact position that Emmanuel thrives in at centre back, is a role model. The teenage sensation whose courage, demand for perfection at the back and overall firmness in posture reminds everyone of Sunzu.
The same Sunzu who stood tall when Zambia needed a hero inside the Stade de l’Amitie in Libreville on a tense night that had an entire continent hold their breathe in the AFCON 2012 final and yet, the man from Chililabombwe made no mistake where Kolo Toure and Gervinho had faltered from the spot. Right there, is the story of African Football – fine margins.
As captain, Emmanuel is deliberate in his admiration of Sunzu, for, winning 8-7 on penalties following a goalless draw after extra time over title favourites Cote d’Ivoire with the last conversion from a central defense stalwart is no mean feat.
And especially for Zambians who needed this victory so much to pay tribute to their 1993 squad that perished on the same coast of Gabon in transit to their FIFA World Cup 1994 Qualifier against Senegal. Sunzu, who delivered when the stakes were high, remains a hero in Zambia todate.
Emmanuel is also quick to say that he admires Lubambo Musonda who also wore the famous copper-like orange and green at youth level featuring in an U20 outfit as well as playing the recent concluded AFCON 2025 in Morocco bringing flair to the left side of the pitch.
That legacy is what drives Emmanuel and what he has since learnt about that generational squad that brought honour to Zambia. From central defense, the teenage sensation can see everything that is happening on the field of play which gives him a chance to lead with precision.
The Zambia U-15 head coach Edward Chisoya who learnt about the Fanwell and Charity family connection courtesy of CAFOnline revealed that, “We looked at his leadership skills, his ability to represent his teammates and we are grooming him to be the best. As a central defender, communication starts at the back. And now that I know about his father and sister who have played for Zambia [chuckles], it even makes it better. You can see why he has the qualities that he has and why we chose him as captain.”
For Emmanuel who has led Zambia to fifth place, he believes that lessons remain aplenty at the CAF African Schools Football Championship in Harare, Zimbabwe. It is onwards and upwards from here now. Even the sky is not a limitation at all – just the ceiling.