As we saw in Germany this weekend that sport has the potential to disappoint and outrage in equal measure and for all different types of reasons.

Overpaid sportsmen behaving like morons does no one any favours, and the general condemnation of Messrs Haye and Chisora is entirely justified, but just every so often sport too can show that it is a tremendous force for good and it did that earlier in February.

When Zambia beat The Ivory Coast on penalties it did so much more than give the tiny nation – population just under 13m – a first ever ACoN victory, it helped bring some closure to one of the most tragic sporting events in recent times.

In 1993 the squad was on its way to Senegal for a qualifier when, minutes after a stopover in Gabon, their plane crashed killing all 18 members of the squad on board. The plane was old and decrepit and in a recent article in When Saturday Comes it is reported that players were joking about the state of it and saying they wouldn’t get to Senegal.

It was, according to reports the most talented team ever assembled by Zambia and one which had a real chance of winning the African Nations Cup the following year. As such, the loss was felt on an immense National, not just personal level. But from the ashes – almost literally – there was still some hope.

Their star player, Kalusha Bwalya, wasn’t on the flight. He had to play for PSV Eindhoven and was on a different aircraft. The former African Player Of The Year realised how lucky he was, and skippered his country in the 1994 tournament, when, astonishingly the scratch team finished runners up.

That was as good as it got for the landlocked country, which shares its borders with – amongst others – The Democratic Republic Of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi and Botswana. Until that is fate was to take them back to Gabon to compete in this year’s tournament.

So etched in the National psyche is what happened back in 1993 that the word “Gabon” has become slang for a faulty vehicle in Zambia, so when they qualified for the 2012 tournament, being held in the country where the tragedy took place, there was a real feeling of destiny. Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene, speaking before the ANC began summed up the feelings of the squad when he said: “We are going to this tournament to put the souls of our fallen heroes to rest.”

The lost players are buried in “Heroes Acre,” just outside the National stadium in the Zambian capital, Lusaka and Bwalya, who is now the President of the Zambian FA spoke movingly of what the victory would mean to him personally: "It is my dream to win the Cup of Nations in Libreville because a great part of Zambian football history was written there. Imagine if we could lift the trophy, it would be a fantastic way to honour the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the land they loved, " he said.

So, it was with that sense of pride that they confounded all expectations to beat Drogba, Kalou, the Toure’s and the rest. This was no run-of-the-mill victory for the country, as was evidenced when they got back home.

Their manager, Herve Renard (former boss of Cambridge United) was apparently close to tears when he gave a speech on the squad’s return to Zambia: “"My players were magnificent," he said.

"I know we're not the best but we have a strength and force that animated our team and made us African champions. They might make some tactical mistakes here and there but you can see the talent.
"This is something enormous - something that appeared unrealisable before the competition began.”

As these scenes show, they were rather pleased …..and rightly so!