FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WITH PICTURE
JANUARY 4, 2022
FQM’S KANSANSHI NETBALL TEAM SCOOPS REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
FQM’s Kansanshi Mine Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Bruce Lewis (3rd from right) celebrating with the Kansanshi Netball team after they topped the North-Western and Copperbelt region netball tournament. 
The winning team – Kansanshi Netball team show off their trophy after topping the North-Western and Copperbelt region netball tournament.
SOLWEZI, ZAMBIA – The First Quantum Minerals-sponsored Kansanshi netball team has scooped the North-Western and Copperbelt region netball tournament, beating 15 other teams.
Despite having been formed only three years ago, the Kansanshi Netball team has proved a formidable challenge to more experienced teams in the region. The young team has proved problematic to vanquish, even when facing some of the country’s best teams.
Speaking after presenting the trophy to FQM’s Kansanshi Foundation management, Kansanshi Netball team coach Leonard Kakoma said that despite going into the tournament as underdogs having overcome a lacklustre start to life in the league, his players had dug deep and transformed into a team to reckon with, even among elite competition.
“Kansanshi Netball team has been around since 2019. And when we started, we were not doing well; we used to concede a lot of goals. However, we promised our sponsors FQM that one day we would be a force to reckon with, and today, we have proved just that.”
“And the people who have made it possible for us to be where we are today, are from the Kansanshi Foundation, because it provided us with the financial and logistical support that we needed each time we were required to travel long distances to go and compete in tournaments or matches. It is such efforts and support that has encouraged the ladies to work hard,” he continued.
Mr Kakoma further said that thanks to the investment the mining firm had put into the development of sport in communities in and around Solwezi, youth had an alternative means to make ends meet through sports like netball.
“Right now, we are aiming to develop our players so that they can have a chance at being selected to be part of the national netball team. And the potential is there, what is needed from them is dedication and commitment,” he added.
And Kansanshi Netball team captain Esther Kolala said: “We are thankful for the support that Kansanshi Foundation is giving us. The sponsorship they have given us has created an opportunity for us to better our lives. And such sponsorships are also helping to keep youths such as myself from bad vices, as well as helping us live healthy lives.”
The mining firm believes that sport plays an important role in promoting socio-economic development among youths by providing them with a means to acquire skills and mental attributes that help expand their career prospects.
FQM’s Kansanshi Mine Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Bruce Lewis said he was proud to note that the netball team had finished the year undefeated.
“We are very proud of our ladies, and it’s been very exciting to watch their matches every weekend. I think that’s an amazing achievement, and it makes us as Kansanshi Foundation very proud to have another winning team. Because we have a lot of winners amongst our cyclists, we have winners amongst our athletes, and now we have winners in our netball team as well.”
“The mine does not only provide them with sporting opportunities, but it also provides them with a chance at a career when their competitive days are done because sport only has a limited life span in terms of age. Cycling is no exception in that we have employed two bicycle mechanics from the team,” he said.
FQM supports several sports disciplines in North-western Province including cycling, rowing, football, athletics, and swimming.
Through the Kansanshi Sports Foundation, the company has also partnered with the Kansanshi Golf Estate to promote golf, tennis, pool, squash, putting, beach volleyball, and netball in schools as part of a broad programme aimed at improving the quality of education and expanding career prospects for Solwezi residents.
The goal of FQM’s livelihood development programmes is to ensure that the mining firm leaves a legacy through which local communities will remember it even after the mine reaches the end of its life.
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About First Quantum Minerals Ltd
First Quantum Minerals Ltd is a global metals and mining company producing mainly copper, gold and zinc. The company’s assets are in Zambia, Spain, Mauritania, Australia, Finland, Turkey, Panama, Argentina and Peru.
In 2020, First Quantum globally produced 779,000 tonnes of copper, 265,000 ounces of gold and 13,000 tonnes of nickel.
In Zambia it operates the Kansanshi mine – the largest copper mine in Africa by production – and smelter and the Sentinel mine in Kalumbila.
The company is listed on the Lusaka and Toronto stock exchanges.
http://www.first-quantum.com
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