Copperbelt basketball players to be paid K675 for every win, in the dressing room

Basketball players on the Copperbelt will be paid K675 every time their team wins, under a partnership worth more than K4 million between the Copperbelt Basketball Association and Locker Room Bonus. The scheme has started in the CBA Super League and covers more than 305 matches involving 16 teams at five venues over the 2026/2027 season. Every player on a winning team is paid, along with eligible technical staff, and the men's and women's competitions are treated the same. So is every player in the squad: someone in their first season receives exactly what an established star receives. The money is paid straight to mobile money wallets before players leave the dressing room. The organisers say that is the point of the design, because it removes the delay and the intermediaries that usually sit between a sponsorship and the person who earned it. ## What it changes for a player Copperbelt basketball "has struggled to attract sponsorship for several years", Copperbelt Basketball Association Secretary General Mulonga Mumba said, adding that the programme is meant to support the development and the welfare of players. That last word matters. Players in domestic leagues outside football generally cover their own transport to training and to away fixtures, and many hold a job or study alongside the game. A guaranteed K675 on the day of a win pays for the bus fare and the food that got them there, and it arrives without a form to fill in or an official to chase. ## Where the model comes from Locker Room Bonus has been running since the 2022/2023 season and operates in eight African countries, namely Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi and Cameroon, covering football and basketball. Zambia is the latest country to join. ## Why it matters Most sports money in Zambia goes to football, and most of that to a handful of clubs. A scheme that pays a women's basketball player in Kitwe the same as a men's player in Ndola, on the same day, is a different w