You often hear narratives that “no match is bigger than the other” when coaches are asked to utter their opinion during the pre match confrence of the number one derby in that football league. I normally take such remarks as one way to easy the pressure.

Especially that coaches lose their jobs for failing to win derbies in some parts of the world. How can the playing ground be levelled for such an encounter that has so much at stake?

In East Africa, where betting is huge with big companies such as Sportspesa and Betway, also injecting money in Sports–in form of sponsership, you hear stories of fans putting their wives as bets ahead of the derby.

Having said that, derbies are more than just any other matches in league and international football. This is why they steal headlines when a fixiture is released prior to the commencement of the term or a tournament.

Synonmous to any other part of the world, African league football has some pure joy to watch derbies; names of the Cairo, Soweto, Casablanca, Tunis, Shameji and Dar derby pops out when it’s time for a discuss of which ones are most famous.

The Kitwe Derby of Zambia

Power Dynamos and Nkana makes the most famous rivalry in Zambian top flight football–well known by the name of Kitwe derby simply because of the city it originates from.

Without an official name therein, other names such as the “El Kopala” are utilized.

You can use any name that makes your hearing pleasing. I can also use the name “Chibwe derby”, simply because of the two brothers who turn out for both sides–Allan Chibwe a Power Dynamos shotstopper and Ronald Chibwe, a striker at Nkana.

The most recent Power Dynamos, Nkana clash was on 17th June as Allan Chibwe put up a heroic perfomance in between the post, toppling Nkana 2-1 with a Martin Phiri double. Lucky was not on his brother’s side, Ronald Chibwe, who was a second half substitute.

Why not among Africa’s
elites?

Match attendance, media hype, history, pitch action rivalry and the glamour are some of the things the bookmakers will put in mind when coming up with a list of big derbies in a particular sphere.

While this derby carries some of the aformentioned, there is the nonexistance of much history behind it, beyond a decade. The seasoned followers will tell you it’s a makeshift derby because turning back the clock, Nkana and Mufulira Wanderers made the famous rilvalry.

Media hype also leaves much to be disired such that even, Supersport, the league broadcasting rights holders fails to dedicate an hour of a build up.

Simple stats of the player with most appearances, all time top scorer and team with the biggest defeat are not available.

How many Radio stations across the country, that dedicates their airtime and advertisement space for the Kitwe Kitwe? How many pubs will have fans crowding to catch a glimpsy?

This derby should be making an ethusiast like me, embark a sojourn courtesy of the “old school” Zambia Railways, from Livingstone through Lusaka to Kitwe.

Otherwise, persisting in a similar pathway and the Kitwe derby will be looked down despite the Zambian league being on resurgence. It is unacceptable that leagues in Tanzania and Kenya which are obvious not better than ours have derbies that are most famous in Africa.

The onus is on the Zambian media not to be just Covfefe, TV rights holders, league authorities and clubs adminstrators to ensure that the Kitwe derby is on the map of Africa, or even the world.

There is much that can be done, such as staging this derby at either National heroes stadium in Lusaka or Levy Mwanawasa stadium in Ndola. After all, it is more than just any fixiture on the league calader.

At the moment, social media is the only perfect sounding board of hyping this derby. Supersport can not necessary replace social media but at least can do better by dedicating an hour of building up to this encounter.

In the end, we will all have an impetus to counter-attack the bookmarkers’ reasons of leaving out the Kitwe derby on the table of men in African football.