Kalusha Bwalya

Bwalya was a member of the national squad that participated at the 1988 Olympic Games, making his mark with a most famous hat-trick in a 4–0 victory against Italy. At the full international level, he appeared in 87 international matches and scored 39 goals from 1983 to 2004. He debuted against Sudan in April 1983 at Dag Hammarskjoeld Stadium in a Cup of Nations qualifier in Ndola, and scored his first goal against Uganda in a World Cup qualifier the following year at the same venue. He has appeared in multiple tournaments, including six editions of the African Cup of Nations.

Although he was captain of the national football team during the qualification matches for the 1994 World Cup, Kalusha was not on the ill-fated flight on 27 April 1993 when the entire team and its management were killed when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Gabon. As he was playing for PSV Eindhoven, his schedule had him flying from the Netherlands to Senegal to join the team instead of being on the team plane. Kalusha Bwalya, Africa's most famous "Number 11", took on the mantle of spearheading the revival of the national side the following year, captaining the side to the Runners-Up spot at the CAF African Nations Cup 1994 in Tunisia—where they succumbed to the Super Eagles of Nigeria; this was to be the peak of his own career and Zambian football for a long time to come. The national team finished in 3rd place at the next edition of the Africa Cup in South Africa in 1996, with Kalusha winning the Golden Boot Award as the top scorer at the tournament.

Bwalya's next stop was Club America, to whom he moved in 1994. The Mexican club's home ground is the legendary Azteca, an arena of which the Zambian icon has very fond memories. As he told FIFA.com: "I am privileged to have played in the best stadium in the world – and to have been able to call it my home ground." The Mexico experience in general was cherished by Bwalya, who devoted almost eight years of his career to the country and recalls his time there as "probably the best of my life".

He was a player-coach during the African 2006 World Cup qualification matches. On 5 September 2004, Zambia played Liberia, and the match was tied 0–0 minutes before the end. Kalusha, aged 41, came off the bench during the second half, scoring from a trademark direct free kick to give Zambia a 1–0 victory and the lead of Africa's Group 1. However, Zambia finished third and failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

In the first half of 2006, Bwalya resigned from his position as the Zambia coach but having served as vice president of the Football Association of Zambia until 2008, he was voted in to be president as of 2008. This was as a result of pressure from members of the Football Association of Zambia as well as the media. On 23 February 2008, he was elected into the CAF Executive Committee.