10 Things You Didn’t Know About Godfrey ‘Ucar’ Chitalu

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  1. Godfrey Chitalu nicknamed Ucar was born on the 22nd of October 1947
  2. He was a Zambian footballer who played as a forward
  3. Chitalu was born in Luanshya, on the Copperbelt Province, in a tough neighbourhood called Mikomfwa where the youth got involved in various vices besides playing barefoot football
  4. It is believed that these early experiences helped to shape his character
  5. He studied in Mikomfwa and managed to get a place in the school team at the age of 10
  6. Shortly afterwards, he was surprised when the Recreation Officer, Benny Evans, invited him to Fisansa Youth Club for a trial after which he started playing for the team as a centre-forward
  7. In 1959 he got a transfer to Kawama School in Kitwe where he switched his position to inside-left and became a regular first team player
  8. After Lionel Messi was recorded to have beaten Gerd Müller’s record of 85 goals in a year, the Football Association of Zambia claimed that the world record actually pertained to Godfrey Chitalu who had scored 116 goals (possibly 117) during the 1972 calendar year and 107 during the 1972 season
  9. The difference of goals is due to first 9 goals being scored before the season officially started
  10. After refuelling in Libreville, Gabon, the plane developed problems and plunged into the sea. Thirty people on board including Michael Mwape, the president of the FAZ, Chitalu and eighteen players died in the accident.