Zambeef, e18hteam successfully complete national football tour

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – The Zambeef “In Your Town” e18team dibili roadshow cinema truck has turned its wheels towards home after a whirlwind and energy-packed month of touring the country and sharing the amazing history of Zambian football history with football enthusiasts across the country.

“When we won the AFCON in 2012, the whole world stood up to applaud a truly amazing team. No one has the right words to describe the pride and hope that resonated within Zambia at that moment! It was like nothing we have ever experienced or seen before, it was our moment as Zambia; it was Chipolopolo, it was unique, it was Zambian! And as a Zambian company we are proud to have been a part of preserving the football heritage and passing on that legacy to the next generation,” said Zambeef Joint Chief Executive Officer Carl Irwin.

Zambeef stepped with K1.5 million to sponsor the high-definition (HD) footage upgrade for the e18hteam film and ensured that it was shown for free to as many football-loving Zambians as possible all across the country. The award-winning film takes viewers through Zambian football’s most defining moments – from the lows of the 1993 Gabon air crash to the highs of the 2012 AFCON. Ngosa Chungu produced the film in collaboration with colleague Juan Rodriguez-Brisco in the hopes that Zambians would get a chance to tell their story from their point of view.

Zambeef’s commitment to football has included and involves supporting football teams playing at both league and community level and helping to groom footballers at the grassroots such as AFCON 2012 squad member James Chamanga as well as supporting the Chipololpolo team while in training by providing meat to team and its officials. Zambeef is also the first to manufacture a locally designed football boots at its Zamleather division which is also home to the Alive & Kicking employment-generation project, which makes quality leather soccer balls that carry health messages and are distributed to under-privileged teams nationwide.

“It has been an amazing journey; gain and again, I’m amazed at the welcoming nature of the people in each town we have gone to. “It’s incredible to see people’s reactions to the movie. For some it’s been a walk down memory lane, for other emotional because of how far they, and we as a country, have come since the early days of football, and still others find hope in knowing and being reminded that this really happened and that Zambia did win the 2012 AFCON. More often than not as Zambians we tend to underestimate our potential, and the e18hteam is evidence that this not so. We have to be proud as Zambians and need to channel all that potential into making this country great,” said Mr Irwin.

What that looks like for Zambeef is organic growth in the Zambian market for locally produced and sourced agricultural products. Zambeef works with small-scale farmers all across its value chain operations and has deliberately put in place policies to that effect such as the 100 percent local procurement policy.

The e18hteam was earlier this year shown at Cannes in France but it was in zambia that it drew its most enthusiastic reviews.

Zambeef board chairman Dr Jacob Mwanza, who was present at the Lusaka screening, had this to say about the movie: “The e18hteam speaks to us as a nation of the pride, passion, hope, faith and determined spirit we have to succeed. It also points us to the fact that good things do not come easy and that there is honest hard work to be done before we can see the benefits coming through.”

The roadshow brought football “mania” to the country as they set out to revive and share the Chipolopolo story with the rest of Zambia after a send-off by Zambeef Vice Chairman Dr. Lawerence Sikutwa. Tracing its way from Kabwe, Chingola, Kitwe, Kaoma, Mongu, Choma, Livingstone and Chipata the roadshow made its final stop in Mansa before heading back to Lusaka.

“All of Zambia was affected when we lost the team in 1993 and when we won in 2012 it was nothing short of a miracle and once again we were united in one cause and reminded that we are all Zambians. Those are moments worth cherishing and preserving. It doesn’t stop here and it shouldn’t!” said Mr Irwin.

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About Zambeef Products Plc
Zambeef Products Plc is the largest integrated agribusinesses in Zambia.
The group is principally involved in the production, processing, distribution and retailing of beef, chicken, pork, milk, dairy products, eggs, stock feed and flour. The group also has large row cropping operations (principally maize, soya beans and wheat), with approximately 8,350 hectares of row crops under irrigation and 17,000 hectares of rain-fed/dry-land crops available for planting each year. The group is also in the process of rolling out its West Africa expansion in Nigeria and Ghana, as well as developing a palm project in Zambia.
It slaughters more than 80,000 beef cattle and 6 million chickens, and processes 8 million litres of milk per year. The company has 122 retail outlets throughout the country, along with three wholesale depots.
More information is available at www.zambeefplc.com.