Peter Kaumba

Although he underwent an operation, he was advised to quit by doctors, a month before his 27th birthday.

Peter Kaumba (born 31 March 1958) is a Zambian football coach and former player.

In 1971, Kaumba joined an amateur Team called UBZ which was sponsored by the United Bus Company of Zambia.

He also played for Zambia Schools while at Kitwe Boys.

In 1975, he joined Mindola United and helped them win promotion to Division I the following season when they won the Division II championship and Kaumba was their top scorer with 39 goals.

Kaumba attended Wusakile and Misheshi primary schools and did his secondary education at Kitwe Boys Secondary School where he completed in 1976.

He played as a left winger but occasionally played as a goalkeeper during the formative years of his career.

After a season in the top flight, Mindola were demoted and Kaumba decided to move to 1977 FAZ Division III winners Power Dynamos where he would go on to make a huge impact.

He helped Dynamos gain promotion to the First Division when they won the title, spending only one season in Division II and he won his first piece of silverware in a 7–6 penalty shoot-out Independence Cup win over Ndola United in October 1979.

The following year, Alex Chola joined Dynamos and formed one of the deadliest attacking partnerships in Zambian football with Kaumba.

Dynamos, who were dubbed 'a baby born with teeth,' retained the Independence Cup with a 2–0 victory over Green Buffaloes.

In the second minute of the game Kaumba scored the first goal, but had to withdraw with a dislocated arm five minutes into the second half.

Despite being an attacking midfielder, Kaumba was a prolific goal-scorer.

He could use his left foot with the same effect efficacy as his right, due to his decision to start practising shooting with his left foot as a boy.

This enabled him to switch to the right wing without problems and his height was advantageous when it came to heading the ball at set-pieces and in open play.

Nicknamed '’Abaleya'’ – a popular call by Copperbelt mini-bus conductors to lure customers which means 'those who are going,' Kaumba made the Number 11 shirt famous.

He was also called 'Africa' after his exploits at the CAN and also drew comparisons to Welsh star John Toshack.

Kaumba was called up to the Zambia national team by Brian Tiler and he made a huge impression on his debut when he scored a last gasp goal in a CAN qualifier against Malawi on 15 April 1979 in Blantyre, in a 2–0 win after Chitalu had scored the opener.

A month before the Moscow Olympic Games, Kaumba suffered an injury in a friendly match against Zimbabwe in Lusaka which made him miss the tournament.

In August 1981, Kaumba scored a crucial goal that qualified Zambia to CAN 1982 in a 2–0 victory over Morocco which gave Zambia a 3–2 aggregate victory.

Kaumba was Zambia's star performer at the tournament, scoring three goals, one less than the tournament's top scorer Ghana's George Alhassan.

He was chosen among the eleven best players of the tournament by a panel of African Sports journalists who covered the tournament.

Later that year, Kaumba struck twice when Zambia beat Egypt 5–3 in Cairo to win the CAF Silver Jubilee tournament.

He was voted the best winger at CAN 1982, when Zambia finished third.

In consequence, he was considered to be the Zambia's top player, top scorer and Sportsman of the Year in 1982.

In 1982, Dynamos had a good run in the African Cup Winners Cup with the fast and explosive Kaumba playing a key role.

They reached the final only to lose to Egyptian side Arab Contractors.

Kaumba emerged as the league's top-scorer with 35 goals for club and country, one ahead of club mate Chola and was rewarded with the Footballer of the Year award, as well as the Sportsman of the Year trophy.

To date, he is the only man to win all three awards in the same season.

He was also the runner-up in the African Footballer of the Year award which was scooped by Camerounian goalkeeper Thomas N'Kono.

In his time with Dynamos, Kaumba won the league, the Independence Cup and the Champion of Champions Cup.

He was also part of the Dynamos team that won the Rothman's Cup in 1983 in Ivory Coast.

That same year, Zambian coach Wieslaw Grabowski described both Kaumba and Chola as world class players who had the potential to play for any division I team in Europe and observed that Kaumba was a brave warrior who used his speed although tended to play defensively at times.

In 1983, Kaumba successfully attended trials with French second division side AS Cannes but while contract negotiations were going on, his agent told him of a 'better offer' in Ivory Coast and advised him to sign.

So in December of that year, Kaumba and Chola signed three-year contracts with Ivorian club Africa Sports The duo made an impact but the stint only lasted 7 months due to the withdrawal of a major sponsor of the club.

Kaumba's career was cut short by injury in 1984, when he became a coach, taking charge of several Zambian clubs.

Kaumba was born in Kitwe, Zambia, where his father White Kaumba was a miner.

He supported Rhokana United (now Nkana FC) as a boy and his hero was Godfrey 'Ucar' Chitalu.

Both players returned to help Dynamos clinch their first ever league title in 1984.

In August Kaumba suffered knee ligament damage in an independence cup semi-final against Kabwe Warriors at Kafubu Stadium in Luanshya which forced him to retire from football.