Dear editor,

ZAMBIAN athletics is at a crossroads. On the track, we have a global star in Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga, who also ran 44.39s to win the Rome Diamond League in 2024 and finished on the podium in Brussels.
Off the track, the sport is in crisis despite having a sound executive headed by Bernard Bwalya.
Samukonga himself last week publicly called for leadership change at Zambia Athletics (ZA), accusing the executive of failing athlete welfare, lacking a clear development plan, and allegedly forcing athletes to pay for their own air tickets to represent Zambia.
ZA has since responded through general secretary Teddy Shimishi, promising an investigation and reminding athletes to use proper channels.
What is true though is that Government and ZA facilitate movements for all athletes that are assigned to represent the country abroad except those that travel for personal competitions that are facilitated by their respective sponsors.
But this rift exposes a deeper problem: an analogue administration running a digital-age sport. Digitalisation is not a luxury – it is the only way ZA can become transparent, efficient and athlete-centred.
Here is how:
1. A central digital athlete database – ending talent wastage
Currently, Zambia has no national, searchable database of athletes from primary schools to senior level. Results are on paper in Kitwe, Ndola and Lusaka, then they get lost.
ZA needs a Zambia Athletics Management System (ZAMS) where every athlete is registered with a unique ID, personal bests, club, coach and medical history. Just as World Athletics does. This would allow a coach in Mongu to see that a 15-year-old ran 10.8s in Kawambwa. Talent would no longer depend on who you know in Lusaka.
2. Electronic timing and live results – credibility
Too many Zambian meets still use hand-timing. This discourages sponsors and makes times invalid for world rankings. Low-cost electronic timing gates (like Freelap or Lynx) plus a live
results platform linked to the ZA website would instantly professionalise local meets and give athletes verifiable World Athletics points.
3. Transparency in welfare and funding – rebuilding trust
Samukonga’s biggest complaint is financial: A digital finance portal where selection criteria and ticket procurement are logged and visible to athletes would kill suspicion.
If an athlete is selected, his flight and camp details should reflect on his profile – not on a Facebook complaint.
4. Coaching and technical education onlineZambia has less than 50 qualified Level 1 World Athletics coaches. Digitalisation can deliver World Athletics e-learning, video analysis tools (like coach’s eye, Dartfish) and virtual clinics to coaches in Muchinga and North-Western without them travelling to Lusaka. Better coaches – faster athletes.
5. Digital fan engagement and sponsorship value
Athletics has no broadcast product. With simple livestreaming on Facebook/YouTube, digital race cards,
athlete storytelling around stars like Samukonga and Samuel Matete, ZA can build data – views, engagement, demographics – that it can sell to sponsors like MTN, Zanaco and betting companies. Currently there is nothing to sell.
6. Performance data and sports science
Zambian athletes run against athletes who know their split times, lactate threshold, stride length and sleep data. Zambian athletes train blind. Affordable
GPS watches, force plates at OYDC-Zambia and a central data bank where physios and coaches share data would move us from guesswork to science. It also helps prevent injuries and doping violations.
7. E-registration and E-accreditation
Why should athletes still queue at ZA offices to get licences? Online registration for clubs, competitions and annual licences, with mobile money integration (Airtel, MTN), would increase revenue collection and reduce bureaucracy.
Conclusion
All in all, it’s not about leadership change, but systems must change even faster. Digitalisation will not fix bad leadership on its own, but good leadership without digital systems cannot survive if they don’t embrace the everimproving technology.
Kudos to the Major Bwalyaled ZA executive, who are working hard to improve athletics in the country, but they must start by investing in
the systems that show where every talent is and where every second is recorded.
The stopwatch has already started.
ROBINSON KUNDA
Lusaka