Efford Chabala
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Efford Chabala | ||
| Date of birth | 2 February 1960 | ||
| Place of birth | Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia | ||
| Date of death | 27 April 1993 (aged 33) | ||
| Place of death | Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Gabon | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1975–1977 | Lubuto Amateur Football Club | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1991 | Mufulira Wanderers | ||
| 1991–1992 | Argentinos Juniors | ||
| 1992–1993 | Mufulira Wanderers | ||
| National team | |||
| 1983–1993 | Zambia | 108 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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David Efford Chabala (2 February 1960 – 28 April 1993), popularly known as Efford Chabala was Zambia's first choice goalkeeper from 1983 until his death in a plane crash off the Gabonese coast in 1993 and is Zambia's most capped player, with 108 full international appearances. Chabala was instrumental in Zambia's first ever East and Central African Championship success when he saved three penalties in Zambia's 3–0 shoot-out victory over Malawi in the 1984 final in Uganda after a goalless draw at full-time. He was named Zambia's Sportsman of the Year in 1985.
Chabala was born in Mufulira where his father was a miner, the fourth born in a family of 12. He started out as a striker and played for Lubuto Amateur Club in Mufulira where his career in goal started by accident at the age of 17. During a practice session, the regular goalkeeper was absent so Chabala was forced to man the posts by his colleagues. He reluctantly agreed but played so well and enjoyed playing in goal that he decided to make the switch permanent.
In no time, he was recruited as Mufulira Wanderers' reserve goalkeeper by coaches Samuel Ndhlovu and Dickson Makwaza. He soon succeeded Bernard Kabwe in the first team, making his debut on 27 July 1980 in a league encounter against Lusaka Tigers at Shinde Stadium in Mufulira. With Wanderers trailing 2–0 at half-time, Chabala replaced Kabwe and the 'Mighty' men went on to win the match 3–2.
Chabala played in goal for the Wanderers side which also featured other top players like Ashols Melu, Kalusha Bwalya, Frederick Kashimoto, brothers Philemon Kaunda and Philemon Mulala, and later Charles Musonda and Johnson Bwalya. This Wanderers side dominated Zambian cup competitions during the eighties and early nineties, earning the tag 'legendary cup fighters.' However, Wanderers never managed to win the Zambian league championship during this period.
He was voted Zambian Sportsman of the Year in 1985 and in the 1988 season, he surprised many Zambian soccer purists by donning a striker's jersey for Wanderers, but he went on to score 5 goals, including the third goal when Wanderers beat Roan United 3–0 in the Independence Cup final in October. He thus followed in the footsteps of another great Wanderers goalkeeper Abraham Nkole, who scored a hat-trick in the final of the same competition in 1971. Chabala reverted to goalkeeping but reprised his striker's role again in the 1990 season for a few more games after which he went back between the posts.
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