Biggie Mbasela, better known as Gibby Mbasela was a Zambian footballer
He was born on the 24th of October 1962
Mbasela was born in Kitwe and after playing youth football and for amateur teams, he joined Zambian League Division II side Big Coke in 1983 and moved to Premier League team Kalulushi Modern Stars two years later
He was one of Stars’ leading performers, winning many admirers with his dribbling skills
He earned the nickname “Cool It” due to his tendency to slow down the game and dribble at his own pace, as well as several other nicknames all in attestation to his ball skills – “Dribbling Wizard,” “Mupike” meaning ‘dribble past him,’ “Bapwishe” meaning ‘dribble past them all,’ which he was quite capable of. Early in his career, a newspaper report erroneously gave his first name as Gibby and this was the name he would be known by throughout his career
At the start of the 1987 season, he moved on to a bigger challenge when he signed for Mufulira Wanderers for a transfer fee of K3,000
After an impressive showing as a winger or centre-forward which was rewarded with a Heroes & Unity Cup medal, Mbasela returned to Kalulushi at the end of the season and stayed with Stars for two seasons
Mbasela was first called to the National team in 1986 by coach Brightwell Banda and made his debut when Zambia travelled to Malawi for a two-game friendly series in June 1986
In early 2000, Mbasela began experiencing poor health. He was admitted to Kitwe Central Hospital where he died on 1 May 2000
He was buried at Chamboli Cemetery in Kitwe and was survived by a wife Rebecca and four children