How UK based charity Alive & Kicking may have helped Zambia develop the stars to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final

Zambia saw off Africa Cup of Nations favourites Ghana 1-0 on Wednesday to reach their first final in the continental tournament since 1994, with a UK based charity taking a small amount of credit for the team’s success.

Alive & Kicking has supplied over 100,000 leather stitched balls to the country since 2004, with the social enterprise charity opening stitching factories in both Zambia and Kenya, helping to employ hundreds of local people.

Over the past eight years, hundreds of thousands of footballs which have been branded with HIV/AIDs awareness messages have been given out free of charge to children across the region.

Sughra Hussain, the Country Director of Alive & Kicking Zambia, has spent over three years helping to develop the charities work across every province of the nation, and is delighted to have helped play a part in developing the countries footballing talent.

Speaking at a recent Afcon event, Hussain said: “Seeing the Copper Bullets in the final fills everyone at Alive & Kicking Zambia with pride.

“Having made over 100,000 leather footballs in Lusaka, that have been played with across the country, we know that we’ve played our part in creating the talent that has helped the Zambian national team develop into the effective force they are.”

The initiative has received the support of a number of famous faces, including former Arsenal star Emmanuel Eboue and even US President Barack Obama.

“One day I hope that the Africa Cup of Nations uses a ball that was handstitched in Africa by Alive & Kicking,” Hussain continued.

“The quality of the football at this tournament has been so high and is matched by the quality of the products that this continent can make for itself – just like Alive & Kicking balls.”

In celebration of Zambia’s Afcon success, with the Copper Bullets set to face Ivory Coast in Sunday’s final, Alive & Kicking have promised to donate 500 hand-stitched leather footballs to schools throughout the country in 2012.