Hakainde Hichilema studied finance and business strategy at the University of Birmingham and will now watch the country's athletes compete on his old stomping ground.

The attention of the African nation's seventh President is something sporting officials in Zambia have been able to harness to generate interest in the Games.

"He has a very special interest and is very passionate about his former university," said Victor Banda, the Zambia Chef de Mission for Birmingham 2022, to insidethegames.

"He talks about it, and that has given us an opportunity to market ourselves, and to market the Games that are taking place. 

"Everyone is now looking forward to the Games.

"We're very excited and that's why we are doing all things possible to prepare the athletes so they will be part of the Commonwealth Games.

"Hopefully we will win a medal which can be presented to the country and President." 

Zambia's team size for Birmingham 2022 is currently 24 athletes, although this could increase as the country is still involved in rugby sevens qualifying for both men and women.

Confirmed sports are athletics, swimming, judo, boxing, cycling and squash, while teams could also qualify in beach volleyball.

Athletes to watch include Sydney Siame, the 200 metres gold medallist from the 2019 African Games in Rabat.

His success in the Moroccan capital saw him named as the best male athlete of the Games by the Association of National Olympic Committees.

Siame won the 100m title at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, and graduated to the full Games at Tokyo 2020 last year.

Sprinter Roda Njobvu also raced in Tokyo, while African Games medallists Everisto Mulenga, a featherweight boxer, and Tilka Paljk, a swimmer, are others hoping to impress.

"They have the experience and we hope they will improve by the time of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham," said Banda.

Zambia has won four golds and 39 medals in its Commonwealth Games history, and competed as Northern Rhodesia until 1970.

They drew a blank at Gold Coast 2018 which is something Banda would like to put right.

"Having come back from the 2018 Games without a medal, we have made a strategic plan which will run up until 2024," he said. 

"We are looking at which core sports can give us medals. 

"I think for Birmingham 2022 it is a must that Zambia should come up with a medal, which would be very, very exciting to our President. 

"It would be a wonderful gift to get a medal from Birmingham. 

"And that's why we are working around the clock to prepare our athletes."

The Queen's Baton Relay for Birmingham 2022 visited the famous Victoria Falls during its visit to Zambia, and the country marked Commonwealth Day a week later than planned due to the death of a former President.

Banda was Chef de Mission at the 2019 African Games and is also an Executive Board member of the National Olympic Committee of Zambia, where he sits as treasurer.

Other roles include President of the Handball Association of Zambia - a sport he would like to see added to the Commonwealth Games programme.

"I'm very, very happy and delighted that my fellow Board members gave me this opportunity to be Chef de Mission for one of the biggest sports events in the world," said Banda. 

"It's a challenge for me and I like these challenges. 

"If I come up with a medal, other Chef de Missions would have to beat my record! 

"We have assembled a very, very good team, with the Games administrator and Games team manager. 

"I think what is important is good preparation. If we prepare well, then we are going to achieve what we want. 

"This is my second assignment as Chef de Mission and we hope to do things in a transparent manner and in the correct way."  

Football is the most popular sport in Zambia, with the country's men claiming a stunning triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2012.

This was a particularly poignant victory after 18 national team players were among those killed in a plane crash in 1993.

In 1988, Cercle Brugge player Kalusha Bwalya was named Africa Footballer of the Year.

Despite being a regular for Zambia, he was fortuitously not on the ill-fated flight as he was travelling to join the team independently from The Netherlands, where he was playing for PSV Eindhoven. 

Zambia's women's team played at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics where Barbra Banda became an instant star after scoring hat-tricks in two games - a 10-3 defeat to the Dutch and a 4-4 draw with China.

Banda said that his namesake highlighted the growing prominence of female athletes in Zambia, but added that other sports were catching up with football's popularity.

"Football is the most common sport and the most watched sport, but other sports are coming up," he said. 

"We have judo, we have boxing, we have swimming and handball. 

"Having the 200 metres champion at the African Games is an achievement for athletics...

"For now we can say it's football, but there is very much improvement in terms of other sports. 

"Now the youth have the opportunity to choose out of the various sports they can participate in."

Encouraging youth is an important aim for sport in Zambia.

Former athletes such as Bwalya, and 1991 world 400m hurdles champion Samuel Matete, are involved in bringing through the next crop of talent.

Matete, an Olympic silver medallist who still holds the African record in the 400m hurdles of 47.10 seconds, set in 1991, was among those to travel with the country's athletes to Tokyo 2020.

"We are very grateful, they are available at any time and they are helping in terms of talent identification," said Banda. 

"In terms of motivation to be better athletes in the future." 

COVID-19 had an impact in Zambia but things are starting to return to normal in the lead-up to Birmingham 2022.

"Our athletes are vaccinated and the Minister of Youth and Sport, together with the Minister of Health, are seeing to it that as our athletes are training, they are following the health guidelines," Banda said. 

"All in all I think our preparations are going well. 

"All things are open in terms of sports activities, they are able to compete among themselves. 

"They can go on with their international calendars." 

Banda has predicted a positive event with Birmingham 2022 set to take place in front of large crowds.

"It should be one of the best organised events," he said.

"I think we are heading towards a very successful Commonwealth Games in Birmingham."