Red Arrows FC Football: The Airmen of Lusaka, Their Titles and African Kick Off Times

Red Arrows FC are a Zambian football club from Lusaka, affiliated to the Zambian Air Force and nicknamed the Airmen. They took the name Red Arrows in 1975, play their home games at Nkoloma Stadium in Chelstone, and in October 2026 knocked Kaizer Chiefs out of the CAF Confederation Cup on penalties. For South African readers following soccer, that tie provides a direct link to the Airmen.

What follows covers who the Airmen are, why two founding years appear, what the club has won and how the tie with Chiefs played out from the Zambian side. The Red Arrows fixtures sit with the squad, results and table modules, and those update after every match, so the written guide stays on what does not change.

Why Do Kaizer Chiefs Fans Know Red Arrows So Well?

Kaizer Chiefs fans know Red Arrows because the Airmen beat Amakhosi on penalties in the second preliminary round of the 2026-27 CAF Confederation Cup. Red Arrows won the first leg 1-0 at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Zambia, where Alassane Diarra scored from a corner in the 76th minute. Chiefs answered in Durban, winning 1-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium through a Bradley Cross header in the 65th minute, which left the tie level at 1-1 on aggregate. Red Arrows then won the shootout 3-2. For a Zambian side it was the night their name crossed the Limpopo, and Chiefs, with a support that fills grounds across South Africa, made them earn every kick of it.

Who Are Red Arrows FC, the Airmen of Lusaka?

Red Arrows are the Zambia Air Force club, based in Lusaka and founded in the 1970s as a services side. The Airmen nickname comes straight from that link to the force. Over the years they have become a steady name in the Zambia Super League, champions for the first time in 2004 and again in 2021-22 and 2023-24. The badge belongs to an institution rather than to a district or a single owner, and that tends to give a club a long memory. The league titles in 2021-22 and 2023-24, the regional title in 2024 and the Confederation Cup breakthrough in 2026 mark significant steps in the club's history.

Where Do Red Arrows Play, and Who Coaches Them?

Red Arrows play home matches at Nkoloma Stadium in Chelstone, Lusaka, a ground with a capacity of about 15,000. For the 2026 first leg against Chiefs they used the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Zambia. Coaching appointments change far more often than stadiums do, so the head coach and backroom staff are listed in the live squad module, which is updated when the club makes a change. If you are planning to follow a Confederation Cup night, check the venue named in the fixtures module first.

How Do You Follow Red Arrows Fixtures, Results, News and the Table From Africa?

Follow Red Arrows through the fixtures, results and table modules at the top, which carry everything that changes from match to match. The league table shows the Zambia Super League (the log, as plenty of South African fans call it), where the title is decided over a full season of games home and away. The Confederation Cup group table is a different animal, because a handful of matches decides who goes on and every away point counts double in the mind. Red Arrows news reads best beside the results module. A headline about a shootout means far more when you can see the aggregate and the date sitting right next to it.

When Were Red Arrows Founded: 1972 or 1975?

Red Arrows were founded in 1972 as ZAF Lusaka and took the name Red Arrows in 1975, which is why both years appear. The club started life as ZAF Lusaka in 1972. In 1973 it was renamed Zambian Air Force FC and promoted to the National League. Then, in 1975, it settled on Red Arrows, and that is the year most reference listings give as the founding date, because it is when the current name arrived.

So, which date is right? Perhaps both, depending on what you are asking. If you want to know when an Air Force team first kicked a ball in Lusaka, the answer is 1972. If you want to know when the club you see on the fixture list today got its name, it is 1975. It is a bit like a shop on Allen Avenue that traded under one name before the new sign went up. The regulars date it from the first day, while the sign writer dates it from the second, and neither of them is wrong. The timeline below sets the main dates out in order.

What Have Red Arrows Won?

Red Arrows have won the Zambian league three times (2004, 2021-22 and 2023-24) and the Zambian Cup four times (2007, 2013, 2023-24 and 2026). They also won the CECAFA Dar Port Kagame Cup in 2024, their only regional title. The 2023-24 season stands out, because the league and the cup came together in the same campaign. Further back, the club won the Zambian Challenge Cup in 1982 and were runners up in 1978 and 1989, so the trophy cabinet has filled in waves rather than all at once.

On the continent, the record has been one of steady knocking at the door. In the CAF Champions League, Red Arrows reached the second round in 2005 and went out in the first round in 2022-23. In the Confederation Cup, their best runs before 2026 were the first round of 16 in 2009, a preliminary round exit in 2012 and a playoff round exit in 2021-22. The win over Chiefs changed that, because it put them in the group stage for the first time, one of 16 clubs in the 2026-27 groups. That qualification marked a new stage in their continental history.

Why Do Red Arrows Matter in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda?

South Africa has the biggest stake, because Red Arrows are the Zambian side who knocked Chiefs out of the Confed Cup in 2026. For the 2026 first leg against Chiefs they used the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Zambia. The second leg took place in Durban, and the penalties settled it. If you are a Chiefs fan looking up who beat your club, the honest answer is a well organised Air Force side with league titles in 2004, 2021-22 and 2023-24. The Diarra corner showed they can be dangerous from set pieces.

Kenyan and Ugandan fans have their own route in through CECAFA. Red Arrows won the Dar Port Kagame Cup in 2024, the East and Central Africa club competition, so supporters who follow that tournament will already know the Airmen. The 2026-27 Confederation Cup group added a second link, because Singida Black Stars from Tanzania were drawn alongside Red Arrows in Group C. For a fan in Nairobi or Kampala, that pairing is a regional story within a continental one, and it is worth watching for that reason alone.

For readers in Nigeria and Ghana, the Red Arrows squad and players offer another route into the club. Zambia won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, beating Ivory Coast on penalties in the final in Libreville. A Nigerian or Ghanaian name in the squad module is the quickest way in for readers there. Where a Nigerian or Ghanaian player joins the Airmen, the squad module is where he will appear first, and that is the place to check before kick off.

What Does the Confederation Cup Group Stage Mean for Red Arrows?

Reaching the Confederation Cup group stage for the first time in 2026 gave Red Arrows a run of matches against strong clubs from around the continent. The draw, held on 28 October 2026, placed them in Group C with Maniema Union of DR Congo and Singida Black Stars of Tanzania, and the full group with every opponent appears in the table module. The 2026-27 group stage was scheduled to open on 27 to 29 November 2026, with the final round set for the end of January 2027. For a club whose earlier continental trips ended in the preliminary rounds, a run of group matches offered a different kind of test, and the results module records how it went.

Who Are the Red Arrows Players, and What Time Do Games Kick Off?

The Red Arrows squad is set out in the live squad module, with the coach, the players and their positions kept up to date as the club makes changes. Alassane Diarra scored against Chiefs at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Zambia, in the 2026-27 Confederation Cup. Squads move between seasons, and so the module is the place to confirm who is registered, while the reports give you the story of each player's contribution on a continental night.

The games that matter most are the Confederation Cup group nights and the Zambia Super League title run, and the start times are easy once you know that Lusaka keeps the same clock as Johannesburg. A match starting at 15:00 in Lusaka kicks off at 15:00 SAST, 14:00 WAT in Lagos, 13:00 GMT in Accra, 16:00 EAT in Nairobi and Kampala. The fixtures module converts every game into WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT for you. For West African viewers, that one hour difference usually lands a Zambian evening kick off neatly before dinner.