SADNEWS: Under 20 national footballer begs for food and shelter!

A 17 year old under 20 female national footballer and COSAFA champion has broken her silence over her personal life stating that she has no place to call home nor food on her table.

Lydia Shamalime who should be celebrating victories on the pitch is instead fighting a different battle, one that has nothing to do with football and everything to do with survival.

The 17 year old COSAFA champ carries a burden far heavier than the medals around her neck.

Her parents are long gone, leaving her as the sole provider for her 84 year old grandmother, Nophta Zulu.

While her teammates go home to warm meals and a roof over their heads, Lydia is often left wondering where she and her grandmother will sleep next.

In an interview with journalist, Idah Musakanya, the football player cried that their home is unstable as they often spend nights outside when there’s no money for rent.

With tears rolling down her face, Lydia revealed the painful reality behind the trophies and medals.

“We have nowhere to stay, we are just moving up and down. Sometimes we are chased from the house, so we are just asking for shelter. Please help me and my grandmother. We only eat once a day. I am a footballer because I want to take care of my family. If I don’t win a match, then life becomes hard, it means we won’t have food.”

“Sometimes we go days without eating and sometimes we sleep outside when I fail to pay rent,” she cried.

Lydia cried that she usually gets a K500 when she wins a match which wasn’t sustaining enough for her to make plans for rent and food.

Neighbours in Lusaka’s Chainda Compound also spoke on behalf of Lydia, urging government to come to her aid.

They cried that government through the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts should ensure that the young footballer is looked after before she is lost to hardship.

“We love her here because she does not participate in illicit activities like most of the young people here in Chainda that’s why we feel she should be helped or else one day she will also turn to a junkie,” said one concerned neighbour.