James Chamanga is a legendary striker who won the 2012 AFCON with Zambia and has been top scorer at all the clubs he featured for including three PSL sides – Bush Bucks, SuperSport United, and Moroka Swallows.
In his last season in the PSL, he was the league's top scorer with 14 goals despite playing only 21 games before leaving for the Chinese Super League which runs on a full calendar year starting in March and ending in November.
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Not only was he the top scorer in the season he departed but he also scored five goals against Platinum Stars' Wayne Sandilands in one match with that record still standing to this day.
Chamanga was 28 back then and fast forward to 2023 he is now 43 and still at the height of his powers in the Zambian Super League for Red Arrows after spending a dozen years in China.
"I can still play for another three years," Chamanga declares to KickOff from Lusaka, Zambia.
Chamanga has only scored five goals this season due to limited game time but has been more prolific in previous years where he registered double figures past his 40th birthday.
"If this club doesn't want me to stay here, I will go to another club.
"The challenge with football is that it is easy to start but difficult to maintain as you get older.
"When you love your job and love to do it you have to guard jealously by making sure that you don't misuse your body.
"My body is my work, so I must protect my body and invest everything in it instead of abusing it with alcohol and women.
"I must keep myself fit all the time and make sure that I train harder.
"As I have gotten older, I have had to train even more, and this helps me to keep up with the standards of the young ones.
"Then there is the mindset factor.
"I just played in that game for Zambian legends against Barcelona and many people came out saying I should give the young ones a chance.
"When I'm told that I think that is when I feel like I should continue.
"I'm not about to be swayed by sentiments of people who don't know how I live my life.
"The fact that I'm the oldest player is what pushes me, and I know with other older guys they would feel intimidated and give up if people speak.
"I play for those that like me and for those that don't like me I don't care about them because they also feel the same.
"Over my career, I have learnt that when you are in a public space there will always be both negative and positive views so I cannot retire just because someone feels like I should stop.
"No, never.
"If you think I'm playing for money then you are wrong because I have enough money to feed my family and have invested enough to take my kids to school.
"With me I want to teach the young ones by being an example.
"They see my body language at training, how I train, effort, seriousness, and commitment every day for the whole season.
"I have never been late for training by one second.
"Even if you ask the coaches here at Red Arrows I'm selected based on merit because I want to show the young ones that you must remain humble and consistent.
"I believe it is better when they see it themselves than telling them by word of mouth.
"If as old as I am, I have made time to be at training on time then the young one should also be actually coming on time as well.
"That way they learn, and it is for that reason that Red Arrows has been to the Champions League and Confederation Cup since I arrived here and we are now a team going forward," says Chamanga who featured for the Zambian legends against Barcelona legends.
The Spanish team featured Ronaldinho, Patrick Kluivert, Javier Saviola, Gaizka Mendieta, and Francesco Coco amongst others.
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