Col Priscilla Katoba – A lady after Women’s football development
“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agrees to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
With the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) elections coming up in just four days one, the candidates are busy selling their manifestos to the voters to gain their trust and hopefully their votes.
In the Women’s category, The incumbent Brenda Kunda facing a huge challenge from Green Buffaloes Women’s football club President, Priscilla Katoba, Nelly Miamba, KYSA owner Mwansa Hildah Mwila Mutangama and Kunda Bowa of Nkana.
Col Katoba who is the founder and CEO of Kabwe based Women’s club Queens Sports Academy, the President of Green Buffaloes Women Football Club, and also the Director/Co-founder of Rising Star Sports Academy is proving to be a popular figure in Women’s football circles thanks to her heart of services to the Women’s game.
During the inaugural Barbra Banda Foundation, Women’s annual Challenge Cup awards ceremony, Col Katoba reiterated her commitment to the cause of developing Women’s football and projects aimed at doing so.
“Standing here today most of you here know that am standing as a national representative for Women in the FAZ Executive and as a promoter of such initiatives, I will support Women’s football and such initiatives,” Col Katoba said.
In her six-year tenure as Green Buffaloes Women’s football club President, she has helped several girls pursue their Education and was involved in Memory Phiri going abroad on a Sports Scholarship at a reputable Oklahoma University in the USA pursuing a Degree in Medicine.
Last year she went viral on social media when news broke out that she had taken it upon herself to pay the educational expenses of several girls from Green Buffaloes including, Zambia National Women’s Under-20 striker Maylan Mulenga who is a Grade 9 pupil at Arakan Girls Secondary School.
However, her works in Women’s football go beyond this little big gesture that the world is aware of as she has taken it upon herself to bulldoze the way for Women’s football development everywhere she is involved.
With all this experience she now wants to take it on the national stage and try to do her best from there by vying for the FAZ Women’s national representative position.
Her main message has been pushing for equality and appreciation for Women’s football and footballers in the country.
“I want to see equality in the game, especially when it comes to the conditions of service as compared to male counterparts. Even at the level of National teams,” she said.
She is also spearheading the ambitious plan to make clubs self-sustainable by initiating the Chicken raring projects at both Green Buffaloes and Queens Academy.
In August last year through her Central Province FAZ Women’s League side, Queens Academy, she bought land for the construction of the Academy’s premises and other facilities.
The land is situated along the Kabwe/Ndola road just after Chindwin Barracks and will house several facilities including pitches, dormitories, and a sizable shopping center for the comfort of the players.