Isaac Chansa (born 23 March 1984), popularly known as "Zife", is a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

n professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Forest Rangers ''The Forest Rangers'' is a Canadian television series that ran from 1963 to 1965. It was a co-production between CBC Television and ITC Entertainment and was Canada's first television show produced in colour. Executive producer Maxine Samuel ...

in the

Zambia Super League The Zambia Super League, known as the MTN Super League for sponsorship purposes, is the top association football league created in 1962 by the Football Association of Zambia. The winners of the league each season receives ZMW500,000 ($26,414.20) ...

Club career

Chambishi and Power Dynamos

Chansa was born in

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

and began his professional club career at

Chambishi Chambishi is a town in Kalulushi District in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. According to the 2021 Census its population stands at slightly above 11,000. It is located on the T3 Road (Kitwe-Chingola Dual Carriageway) between the cities of Ki ...

, but he didn't find his place in the first squad and later moved to Power Dynamos. With Dynamos, he appeared in 45 league matches, scoring 16 goals between 2002 and 2004. He was in Dynamos' 2003 Zambian Cup, 2003

Zambian Coca-Cola Cup According to records from the RSSSF, there were many association football cup competitions organized in Zambia since 1962, some of which are the Independence Cup, the Zambian Challenge Cup (both organized in 1961), the Champion of Champions Cup ( ...

and 2004 Zambian Charity Shield winning squad. He has also appeared in

2002 African Cup Winners' Cup The 2002 African Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Wydad AC in two-legged final victory against Asante Kotoko Asante Kotoko Sporting Club, simply known as Asante Kotoko, is a professional football club founded on 31 August 1 ...

Orlando Pirates

From 2004 to 2007, he moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and played for

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

side

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...

, where he scored 7 goals in 43 league matches. He was in Pirates' Premier Soccer League 2004–05 and 2005–06 Runners-up squad. With Pirates, he won the friendly tournament

Vodacom Challenge The Vodacom Challenge was an association football pre-season tournament that featured Vodacom-sponsored South African clubs Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs plus from 2006 onwards an invited European club. Prior to 2006, the competition consisted ...

in 2005. In 2020, then Orlando manager Milutin Sredojevic, has identified Chansa as one of the best players he has ever coached, thanks to the player's big heart and true discipline.

Helsingborgs

He later joined

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

team

Helsingborgs IF Helsingborgs IF (full name Helsingborgs Idrottsförening), commonly referred to as HIF (), is a Swedish professional football club located in Helsingborg. They play in the Swedish first tier, Allsvenskan, following promotion in the 2021 Superet ...

for the 2007–08 season to team up with former South Africa national team coach

Stuart Baxter Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is a British football manager and former player who most recently managed South African Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs. Born in England of Scottish parentage, and brought up in both countr ...

. Chansa played there until 2009. In late 2006, while still playing for Pirates, Chansa was banned by the PSL for three months (nine suspended) after he was found guilty of assaulting an assistant referee during Pirates’ clash against

Jomo Cosmos Jomo Cosmos are a South African association football club based in Johannesburg that plays in the National First Division. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend Jomo Sono. In the 2021-2022 National First Division sea ...

. With Helsingborgs IF, he appeared in

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

matches in 2007 and

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

qualifying matches in 2009.

Second stint with Orlando

After the end of his contract in Sweden with Helsingborgs IF, he returned on 1 February 2010 to his former club

. He signed a pre-contract with Pirates' Soweto rivals

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

to join the club in July 2012. He played for the team, where he had already used to play earlier, a season and a half and featured in 41 matches, where he scored 12 goals. He also won the

title in 2010 with Orlando and he is still considered as Pirates legend.

Henan Jianye

In June 2012, Orlando Pirates confirmed that he moved to

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

club

Henan Jianye F.C. Henan Songshan Longmen Football Club (), previously known as Henan Jianye Football Club (), is a professional football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The tea ...

for a transfer fee of 700,000 US Dollars. Chansa, who scored a spectacular goal against

Golden Arrows Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. are a South African soccer club based in Durban that plays in the Premier Soccer League. History It was founded in 1943 in the streets of Lamontville, a township in Durban. The club played in the defunct Nation ...

Orlando Stadium Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg, in Gauteng province in South Africa. It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates Football Club, a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Soccer League. O ...

to wrap up Pirates' league title on the final day of the season two years ago, joined the Henan Jianye, which is based in

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

in the province of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

. The club was promoted to the

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

in 2006. They finished third in 2009. Chansa joined

teammate and former

star

Chris Katongo Christopher Katongo (born 31 August 1982) is a Zambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level, he amassed over 100 caps between 2003 and 2016 for the Zambia national team. He is an Africa Cup of Nations ...

at Henan. It was not a suitable move for him and after an even more chaotic and the unsatisfying season of

in 2012, the club was relegated to the second division and he came back to

Zanaco F.C.

In 2013, after the end of the Chinese Super League season, Chansa became a free agent after his Chinese club Henan Jianye offloaded him. He then came back to

and hired by Zanaco until he get a new club. It was announced that, Chansa has joined FAZ/MTN Super league defending champions Zanaco as a guest player. He scored 5 goals in 25 Zambia Super League matches from 2013 to 2014.

Shillong Lajong

On 8 August 2014, it was confirmed that,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

club

Shillong Lajong FC Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining ...

have completed the signing of Zambian International and

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

2012 winner Isaac Chansa as their 3rd foreigner. On his new contract, Chansa said that "I am happy and look forward to this new challenge. I will do my best to contribute in the team’s success in any way I can and repay the faith shown in me by the team management." He played only few

2014–15 Indian Federation Cup The 2014–15 Indian Federation Cup, also known as the Hero Federation Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th edition of the Federation Cup, the main national football cup competition in India. Ten of the eleven I-League clubs participated i ...

matches for Lajong and have not appeared in any

match.

NorthEast United

After signing a short term contract with Shillong Lajong, he loaned out to their affiliated

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

side

NorthEast United FC NorthEast United FC is an Indian professional football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded on 13 April 2014 during the inaugural season of Indian Supe ...

in 2014. He made his Indian Super League debut on 16 October against giants

Atlético de Kolkata ATK (formerly Atlético de Kolkata) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football and were the league champions during the inaugural 2 ...

in a 2-0 loss match. With the NorthEast, he appeared in 8 league matches.

Mitra Kukar

In 2015, he moved to

Liga 2 (Indonesia) Liga 2 (English: ''League Two'') is the second-tier of the football competition system in Indonesia, organized by PSSI. Before 2017, this competition was named the Liga Indonesia Premier Division (from 1994 to 2007, it was the top-tier divisio ...

outfit

PS Mitra Kukar Persatuan Sepakbola Mitra Kutai Kartanegara is an Indonesian association football club based in Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. They currently compete in the Liga 3. History This club was founded in 1979 as NIAC Mitra. NIAC stoo ...

and appeared in few league matches but lifted the General Sudirman Cup in 2015.

Back to Zanaco

He returned to

and signed with his previous club

Zanaco F.C. Zanaco FC is a Zambian football (soccer), football club based in Lusaka that plays in the Zambian Premier League, MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka. Zanaco Football Club was formed in 1978 as a social ...

for 2 seasons. He played there until 2017 and won the 2016 Zambian Super League.

Royal Eagles

Chansa after his stint with Zambian champions

Zanaco FC Zanaco FC is a Zambian football club based in Lusaka that plays in the MTN/FAZ Super Division. They play their home games at Sunset Stadium in Lusaka. Zanaco Football Club was formed in 1978 as a social team by management trainees of Zambia ...

, returned to South Africa to reunite with Royal Eagles F.C. coach Kosta Papic. The Serbian manager was at the helm at Pirates during Chansa’s first stint with ''"the Bucaneers"'' from 2004 to 2007. "Chansa is already training with the club and has signed but is waiting the issuing of his work permit", Papic told to kickoff.com on 8 March 2017. Eagles were chasing promotion this season and feel the experience of the Zambian midfielder helped them with that target.

International career

Chansa made gis senior international debut for

on 1 May 2004 against

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

in a 1-1 draw match, where he scored a goal. Chansa was part of the Zambian

2006 African Nations Cup The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt won ...

team, which finished third in group C in the first round of competition, thus failing to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. Then he also represented his country in numerous

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

qualification matches alongside the main rounds of later

African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

. Chansa's biggest achievement is winning the

for his country in February 2012, defeating

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

. He was also part of the 2014 Zambian national team that took on

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the Pre-World Cup International Friendly in the USA. Between 2004 and 2016, he earned 69 international caps, representing Zambia and scoring 3 goals.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first.''

Honours

Country

;Zambia *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

: Champions (1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Club

;Orlando Pirates * MTN 8 Cup : Champions (1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: Champions (2):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2011–12 *

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

: Champions (1): 2011–12 ;Zanaco *